The Heavens Curse
by Boots86
Summary: How can a shattered soul pick up the pieces of a life that lead to its destruction? How can a fated life be changed by another anchored to change? Will chaos ensue, or will of the flame come to pass? What things will change and what friends be made?
1. Prologue

The Heavens Curse

Prologue

It was a dark day as the sun rose over the mountains. Trees lay uprooted and burning, buildings were crumbled into what could only be called as ruins, and the scent of freshly spilled blood and death lingered in the air, its nauseas smell there as the description of what had happened during the night.

And as the suns first rays covered the ruins of what once used to be a brilliant city, nine gargantuan creatures stood, starring at the carnage that was the city.

The first resembled a tan raccoon, though its hide was made out of sand. The second was a cat with two tails, its dark blue fur out of place against the smoldering country side. The third looked to be a humanoid shark except where there were fins were legs and it had three fins placed along its back. Next was a mix between a lizard and a bird. It had the body of a lizard, though its back legs were longer and more defined, its claws razor sharp. On its back was four black feather wings, making it look more like a bird of prey as well.

Then there was a wolf, its black hide seemingly drawing in all light as its five tails thrashed about behind it. Next was a snow white weasel whose fur seemed to give a surreal light with the morning rays and glowing embers. The eighth creature look greatly akin to a serpent, its large black and gold scaled hide and coiled body being its main marks. But along its back were 8 leathery wings that were folded back to lay against its main stretched body. This dragon, though massive, had its head lowered to the others creatures height.

And the final creature, though laying down with the other creatures around it, was a gargantuan red fox, it's nine tails curled up beside it as its head rested on on the ground. Where it's snout was though, it nudged a body that looked to have been burned severely but still drew shaky shallow breaths.

The body was a man, about thirty years old and, though burned, seemed to have been well toned, a testament that the person had worked hard their entire life to become strong. His face though had six distinct marks, three on each side of cheeks, making it look as if he had whiskers. Then, adorning his head, though mostly caked in dirt and patched with red blood, was a head of golden hair.

All nine creatures starred at this body with very solemn expressions, the fox though with borderline sadness.

"Kyuu... Kyuubi," the body shallowly said, his voice scratchy and barely above a whisper. All nine creatures heard him though and stared at him as his eyes opened to reveal the most piercing blue eyes the world had ever seen.

"Rest kit. You deserve it after everything you've done," a deep voice echoed from the fox. It was calm yet powerful and at the same time carried a deep sound of sorrow as it stared at the slowly dieing body.

"Thank... you," the body said as he closed his eyes again and the breathing suddenly became shallower before stopping.

As the body took its last breath though, the fox pushed it's body up with its front paws and once they were at their length, it threw back its head and let out an enormous howl. Within the sound of that howl carried a great deal of sadness and it continued for nearly a minute before the fox collapsed back down to the earth with its snout next to the body again. Its large red eyes this time flowed freely with tears as it starred at the lifeless body.

"No human deserves a fate like ours," the five tailed wolf said, its voice sounding somewhat like a deep growl but also saddened.

"Too true. He gave his life to save this world but in the end he had to destroy it," the two tailed cat purred, its voice carrying as much sadness as all the creatures were feeling.

"Yes, he was a strong one. It was a shame that those bastard group of humans used him as the anchor for all of us as their ultimate weapon. They broke his soul, pour thing," the four winged raptor said as it scratching the ground nervously and lowered its body much like the fox so that it's snout was a few feet away from the body.

"He truly deserves a better fate than this. Everything he held dear, including my last container, all were taken from him by those bastards. It is a shame that we cannot give him what he has given us," the sand raccoon said, its normally hyper and prankster voice soft and weighted with guilt.

The foxes head shot up at the mention of the raccoon's thoughts as it blinked at the one tailed creature a few times.

"We can do just that," the fox said as a sinister grin crept across its massive jaw. The other eight creatures looked at the gigantic fox as if it had lost its mind until its words registered in all of them.

"We can give him the chance he deserves to live again. We can give him a better future than this," it said as it stood to its fool height and waved its tails behind it, as if to motion to the scorched and barren earth.

"You do realize we will all be sealed again if this is to happen. It would take ever last one of chakra in order to bring his soul back and do this," the six tailed weasel said, its voice in a soft growl.

"Yes I know but the kit deserves this. If it wasn't for him, none of us would have ever tasted the outside world again. If it wasn't for him, none of us would have come to understand what true strength is. To protect those you deem precious and care above all else. We all learned the start of this when we were sealed away. The least we can do is pay back the kit for everything he has ever done for us," the fox said, the saddened look in its eye as it looked to the body making a few tears fall.

"Then let this be our final farewell to this world my lord," the eight winged dragon said, its own smile gracing its massive maw.

The fox's grin only widened further as it looked to the other eight creature and saw similar expressions on their faces.

"Then let us begin," the shark said as a dark aura flared to life around it.

The other creatures quickly followed, each aura radiating power as the thought they all had kept running through their minds, it being their focus. The fox's however was massive compared to the other eights combined and with its power, the surrounding area seemed to shift and twist, as if the very fabric of space and time was being altered. The earth around them all turned to ash, the fires extinguished themselves, and light bent around them, leaving the area surrounding them in almost complete darkness.

The only light in the area came from the scorched body as it glowed brightly. This continued for nearly five minutes before another light appeared in the darkness, just barely above the body. It, like the body, was completely white and within a few seconds of arriving, the area was filled with the powerful glow.

In the few seconds the light had appeared, the darkness suddenly vanished, along with it the nine creatures and the body. Then, as if it was on cue, the earth seemed to split and crack, the reality of it twisting and becoming nothing more than particles. With an eerie crack, it vanished into dust, nothing more than just particles in the space time continuum.

It was a beautiful afternoon in Konoha. Shopkeepers were out in their shops, selling their goods, travelers went to and fro from said shops, buying items for the day or for journeys. Shinobi walked here and there, or jumped from roof top to roof top. All either doing missions, returning from them, or heading out to complete the ones that had been assigned to them.

Down one road though there was a confrontation taking place. It was between several shinobi, though no weapons had been drawn yet and no fighting had taken place.

One person was a blond girl, about sixteen in age and standing about five and a half feet tall. She wore a white long sleeved shirt and a green skirt with fishnet stockings underneath. She had a forehead hite-ate around her neck that showed she was a Sand ninja and had a large fan attached to her back.

Another person was another girl, who had bright bubblegum pink hair and stood maybe five foot four. She wore a fairly plain red sleeveless dress that ended about midway at her thighs though she wore a pair of spandex shorts underneath that went to almost her kneecaps. She too had a hitai-ate, though hers was for the Leaf village, and it was tied to her head in such a way that it held her hair back away from her face and forehead.

And currently both girls were glaring at the three people that was in between them and instigates of the current situation. One was a boy, about the same age as the blond girl, though about a foot taller, dressed in a black outfit with an odd symbol on the front and a large wrapping attached to his back. His hitai-ate was tied around his forehead. Currently said boy was holding a smaller boy, about the age of six or so, with a scarf wrapped around his neck, goggles attached to his forehead, at arms length above the ground.

And directly across from them was another boy, a little over feet tall with blond hair that bordered golden. He had three whisker marks adorning each cheek and had on a pair of bright orange pants as well as jacket. His bright blue eyes were currently glaring daggers at the other boy who was holding the smaller boy.

"Put Konohamaru down now," the boy in orange yelled.

"So that's this brat's name eh? I think I'll have a little fun before I 'put him down'," the boy in black said as he cracked an evil grin.

"Kankuro, put the brat down. We don't want any trouble here," the blond girl said, glaring at the boy clad in black.

"Sheesh Temari, this punk ran into me. I think I should pay him a back a little bit," the boy in black, Kankuro said.

"Fine, do what ever. I'm not taking responsibility for your actions though," the blond girl said and turned to leave.

Kankuro's grin even wider at the girl's, Temari, remark and drew his fist back.

"Enough," a voice said from behind Kankuro and froze him in tracks.

"You are a disgrace to out village," the voice said again making Kankuro drop the small boy Konohamaru, who immediately took off down the alley and hid behind the girl with the pink hair.

"Ju... Just having a bit of fun brother," Kankuro stuttered as he looked at the new arrival behind him.

(Okay, no more describing, if you can't picture who the people are by now or where I am at in describing the story line, that's your own fault.)

"Do not do such things again or I will kill you," Gaara said, his calm cold voice laced with a massive amount of killer intent that made Kankuro's body stiffen.

"Hey, are you guys here for the chuunin exam?" Naruto asked, drawing the attention of Gaara and the other two sand shinobi.

With a simple nod from Gaara, Naruto got a large foxy grin plastered to his face as he placed his hands behind his head.

"Awesome. I hope we can enter too because you guys seem strong," Naruto said, his grin never leaving his face.

"What is your name?" Gaara asked as he starred at Naruto with an questioning glare.

"Uzumaki Naru..." Naruto started to say but was cut off as a tremendous pain suddenly erupted in is his gut, knocking the wind out of him.

He keeled over onto his hands and knees with one hand pressed against his stomach, though he had to pull it away as if his body was on fire. At the same moment though Gaara was floored as well as he was on his knees with both of his hands gripping his head tightly.

The sand in his gourd thrashed out wildly as his body convulsed in pain and after only a few seconds, the sand stopped thrashing but he was still knocked over holding his head.

Naruto on the other hand did not have such and easy time with the pain. With each second it seemed to double his body started to feel as if he would suddenly explode into fire. The scream that suddenly escaped his lips only a few seconds after the pain had started though chilled the people who weren't in pain to the bone.

But at the same time the scream happened, a blue aura of chakra exploded out from Naruto at the same time. At first in only went about a foot away from his body but as the scream intensified, the chakra grew out at an alarming rate. Within a matter of moments it was surrounding a radius of nearly two hundred feet from him.

Those caught in this aura, though terrified of the scream that was emitting from it, especially for the people who where just walking past the alley before being enveloped by the blue chakra, they also felt and odd sense of serenity, as if nothing would happen to them and that they felt safe.

For Naruto however, the blue chakra obliterated the upper part of his jumpsuit as well as his shirt and a few places of the lower part of his pants.

_"What the hell is happening to me?"_ Naruto screamed in his head. Memories started to flood his brain then. All of them in a blur but with each minuscule of a moment, the pain in his body started to triple and he could feel his grasp on consciousness slowly slipping.

He couldn't feel the effects that his chakra was putting off nor could he see the confused and terrified looks of the sand shinobi, the pain that Gaara was still in as well, or the horrified and worried looks of Sakura, Konohamaru, and Sasuke, whom had arrived right as Naruto was saying his name to Gaara.

They had all been floored by his chakra but none of them could explain why this was happening to Naruto. But even as the seconds ticked by with them frozen in place, his chakra kept growing and growing until it exoanded to nearly seven hundred feet away from his body, making him look like a giant blue flame.

His body also changed they noted. It started to fill out more and seemed to lengthen as he knelled on the ground screaming in pain. If his clothes hadn't been maimed or destroyed before this started to happen though, they surely would be now. But at the same time of his body growing, markings started to appear along his back and arms.

They could not see what they were from the massive chakra that was coming out of his body but they figured something was not right as Naruto's scream only seem to intensify as the marks appeared.

Then as suddenly as the chakra had come out of his body the color changed briefly to a blood red before stopping entirely. Yet in that brief second, every person in all of Konoha stopped in their tracks as their bodies became paralyzed with the greatest fear they had ever felt. Many of the older residence knew of this feeling before, but never had the feeling been this overwhelmingly powerful.

In the Hokage's office, Sarutobi was looking out of his window as the blue flame of chakra was alight high in the sky. ANBU members behind him has questioned if they should check what was going on.

"Yes, check what is wrong with Naruto," Sarutobi said as he took a puff of his pipe.

But in mid puff the chakra in front of him suddenly changed and the feeling that accompanied it stopped him mid puff, as well as the ANBU members behind him in mid step.

It lasted for only a few seconds as Sarutobi's eyes widened as a thought accompanied his bodily functions restarting.

"Gather all ANBU and meet me where Naruto is and hurry," Sarutobi commanded in panic to the ANBU who had just regained their sense of mobility as well.

The masked shinobi nodded silently before vanishing in a puff of smoke. Sarutobi however immediately jumped out of the window in his office and raced along the rooftops towards where the chakra had suddenly vanished.

_"Please let this not be what I think it is,"_ Sarutobi though as he came closer to the scene.

Naruto, for lack of better description, felt like shit. His head ached, his body felt like it was on fire, and he felt as if he had just been battling every shinobi in the world for a hundred years. He coughed violently, spraying a little blood his mouth, which only served to make his throat and torso hurt even more.

_"Okay, no coughing. My body hurts like hell... Ugh, where the hell am I? The last thing I remember was..."_ Naruto thought before an image popped into his mind's eye.

It was slightly blurry but he knew exactly what it was. It was him, the feeling of laying on the ground, looking through half open eyes at a giant fox who was looking back at him with a very sad look in it's eyes.

"Kyuu...bi," he whispered as many thoughts and memories started to flash through his head again, though this time they were all clear and precise. Each image held with it thousands of meanings and he closed his eyes as all of the memories flooded his brain for a few moments before stopping.

"Na... Naruto?" a voice called from behind him which made him snap his eyes open. Completely oblivious to the sight of the three sand siblings before him, Naruto snapped his head around to the owner of the voice.

It was a voice he remembered all too well. Soft and calming, hesitant but caring.

But the second he had turned his head and body around to look at the person who had said his name, his eyes opened in shock. There standing before him was Sakura with a terrified looking Konohamaru and confused and unnerved Sasuke standing behind her.

"But... but... you died... all of you... how can this be.." Naruto stammered as his eyes were wide with disbelief.

"Huh? Naruto..." Sakura stared to say again but Naruto stopped her speech as he stood up suddenly, also now a lot taller than she was.

"This has to be an illusion. That bastard must have done something," Naruto seethed as he put his hands into the ram seal and focused his chakra. Everyone within a fifty foot radius of him, including the ANBU and Sarutobi, as well as Kakashi and several other jounin that had come running at the massive chakra immediately felt the massive build up of chakra that came with Naruto focusing his chakra.

But before anyone could do or say anything Naruto did what he was thinking.

"KAI!" his voice echoed as the chakra he had focused pulsed out of his body in every direction.

The sheer force that came with it floored everyone who had been standing around him. But the pulse didn't stop there. It rolled out and away from Naruto like an invisible tidal wave. Anyone who was standing within the walls of Konoha immediately fell to the floor as the wave of chakra washed over them.

Genjutsus that were being used around the entire village wavered and disappeared as if they didn't exist in the first place. People traveling outside the walls were nearly knocked off their feet as the sudden burst slammed into them. The entire happening occurred in under two seconds and in those two seconds, Naruto starred in horror at the now more confused and terrified looks of the three people in front of him.

_"They... They didn't disappear. They aren't illusions..." _Naruto thought before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he promptly fell face first into the ground unconscious.


	2. Stitch in Time

The Heavens Curse

Chapter 1: Stitch in Time

_"KAI!" his voice echoed as the chakra he had focused pulsed out of his body in every direction._

_The sheer force that came with it floored everyone who had been standing around him. But the pulse didn't stop there. It rolled out and away from Naruto like an invisible tidal wave. Anyone who was standing within the walls of Konoha immediately fell to the floor as the wave of chakra washed over them._

_Genjutsus that were being used around the entire village wavered and disappeared as if they didn't exist in the first place. People traveling outside the walls were nearly knocked off their feet as the sudden burst slammed into them. The entire happening occurred in under two seconds and in those two seconds, Naruto starred in horror at the now more confused and terrified looks of the three people in front of him._

_"They... They didn't disappear. They aren't illusions..." Naruto thought before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he promptly fell face first into the ground unconscious._

_Drip_

"Ugh..."

_Drip_

"Oh... who the hell left the faucet on?" Naruto groaned. Everything around him was dark but he could feel that his eyes were closed.

_Kit...drip_

"Huh? Kyuubi?" Naruto asked aloud as he tried to open his eyes.

_Wake up!_

Naruto's eyes shot open immediately at that point as a large burst of chakra rushed his sense. At the same time he sat up quickly and felt something that had been on his chest fall away.

Yet, as he opened his eyes, he had to immediately close them, the bright light from where ever he was being more than he could handle so suddenly.

"Ah hell, someone turn down the sun," Naruto grumbled as he rubbed his closed eyes that had started to water a bit.

"I would bad that would be difficult task to accomplish would it not?" a deep voice sounded from in front of Naruto. It was filled with mirth but at the same time, very wise.

His body instantly stiffened at the voice.

"Who are you and where am I?" Naruto growled. His eyes were still closed, for fear of having whatever bright light there was throwing off his senses again. His other four senses however immediately went into overdrive and heightened.

The sound of clothes brushing against each other from the briefest of movements, the slight humid taste in the air, the smell of tobacco being light, and the feeling of something extremely soft underneath him.

_'Wait a second, cloth, tobacco, and something soft? What the hell? Nothing like this was left before that fight..." _Naruto thought as his body relaxed from his battle senses but settled into that of now utter confusion. It was then a thought suddenly came to him.

"So it finally happened," Naruto said as he laid back down against the soft material, "Akatsuki finally managed to kill me off."

With that said he let out a heart felt sigh as every muscle in his body, which was just registering in his brain that they were in a decent amount of pain, relaxed.

The chuckled from the voice though made Naruto lift his head up a bit and, still with his eyes closed, stare directly at the man who was at the foot of whatever bed he was on.

"And what pray tell is so god damn funny?" Naruto asked a bit peeved.

"Your words. I'd have to say you would have to be having some very odd dreams to be thinking that you are dead," the voice said, still full of amusement.

"Oh," Naruto said as he laid back down, not paying to much attention to the persons full response. He had somewhat tuned out the rest of the words after 'your words' and was relaxing again.

That is until the words finally sank into his head.

"NANI?" Naruto screamed as he sat up again very quickly and forced his eyes open as well.

The sensation of blood draining from his head as well as the searing pain from the bright light blurred his vision greatly but he could make out someone dressed in white and red robes in front of him. The person also was the source from where the smell of tobacco was coming from.

"Who are you!" Naruto growled out again as he continued to stare at the rapidly sharpening image of the man before him.

As it did though, his answer didn't come from the words of the man but his image. The red and white coat, the gray robes underneath, the white and red hat with the symbol for fire embroidered into it, and namely that old and wise face of the man that was wearing the attire.

"Sa... Sandaime-sama," Naruto whispered out in sheer and utter shock.

The old man though got his own look of shock at the words.

"That's the first time I think I have ever heard you call me that," the man said with his mouth agape starring at Naruto with a questioning look.

"But... But... you died fighting... you sealed... how... how are you alive?" Naruto stammered, his voice caught in his throat as he stared at the old man in awe.

"By simply living, I assure you," Sarutobi, the sandaime(third), said with a puzzled look at the now very confused and shocked boy in front of him.

It was silent for a few moments before Naruto shook his head in disbelief at what he was seeing and rubbed his eyes again before starring for a few more moments. He even went so far as to pinch his leg, which he now knew where under covers, very hard. The flinch of pain and strong of mumbled curses that came out of his mouth in the next few moments had Sarutobi wondering if the boy had somehow suffered a nervous breakdown.

"Naruto," Sarutobi said, snapping a still very confused and shocked face back to his, "Why do you keep starring at me as if I am a ghost."

"Because you sealing that snake bastards arms away," Naruto said with a growl as an image flashed through his mind.

However, the second that one came, many more quickly followed with vivid pictures of everyone he knew. The flashed all happened within a second but the moment they passed, Naruto shook his head.

"_Okay, I need some answers," _Naruto thought angrily as he bit his thumb.

He then performed hand seals very quickly at a speed that made Sarutobi's brow furrow.

"_How does he know those seals and can perform them so fast? He couldn't possibly have that..." _the old man thought as he watched on but his thoughts were suddenly interrupted as Naruto finished the seals and placed his hand on the bed next to him.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu," he all but growled out and a wave of intricate writing suddenly spread from underneath his palm followed very quickly by a puff of smoke.

Sarutobi's eyes widened in awe and disbelief as the smoke appeared, curious, but at the same time he prepared for a battle for he had not known Naruto could do the summoning jutsu.

When the smoke cleared a second later, both Naruto and Sarutobi starred with wide eyes at what had been summoned.

It was a fox, a small one in comparison to to any ordinary one. But the thing that made Sarutobi nervous the most were two things. One, its fur was a dark blood red, a very unnatural color for a fox. The second was the nine tails that were sprawled out around it. That simple fact made Sarutobi very tense as he starred at the small version of the demon fox that had wreaked havoc on Konoha.

Naruto however noticed a few things about the fox that unnerved him greatly, besides the foxes' small size. One was that it's body was extremely thin, as if it had been starved for a very long time. Next was that all nine of the tails weren't moving and the last was that the fox was barely breathing as well as unconscious.

"Sweet kami," Naruto whispered as he leaned over to the small fox that was passed out on his bed and lifted it up gingerly in his arms to set it in his lap.

Sarutobi saw this and to say he was unnerved was an understatement. Especially when he heard Naruto start to talk to the fox that was now in his lap.

"Kyuubi. Hey Kyuubi, are you okay?" Naruto asked gently, barely pushing the side of the seemingly dead fox in his lap.

It stirred a little before lifting its small head up to look at Naruto.

"He he, so it worked," a soft but deep voice sounded from the fox as it tried to grin but grimaced in pain and tried to curl into a little ball.

Naruto was confused to say the least but he was more concerned with the fox's health.

"Hey what happened to you to make you appear like this?" Naruto asked, completely forgetting the fact that he now had one very shocked and on edge Sarutobi not two feet from him.

"The... the others and I decided to give you a second chance. You... You gave us the understanding of what makes you humans so strong as well as an understanding of emotions. After that last fight... we thought you deserved better than what you had to have endured. We... we wanted you to have the chance at a life that wasn't like the one you had lived," the chibi Kyuubi said in between flinches of pain and gasps of breath.

"That still doesn't tell me why you look like a baby fox that is barely alive and has been starved," Naruto said, his head spinning with information as more images kept flowing throughout his subconscious.

"It... took a lot of our energy to bring you here. This place... its another reality that had been frozen in time from the choices made from the world you used to be in. It's... it's exactly like the world you were once in but at an undetermined point. We tried to place you in a spot that would be good but I don't know when you ended up in," Kyuubi said, his deep voice coming out a bit better but still in short gaps from him flinching in pain.

"So where are the others?"

"Sealed back in their original containers," the fox said and then tried to take a deep breath but flinched greatly as if something had just slammed into him.

"I need to rest kit. My chakra is drained from all of this, as is your's too probably. We can finish talking about this some other time," Kyuubi said and then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto sighed again as the smoke cleared but this time he felt his own muscle react in a painful manner, turning his sigh into a hiss of pain. The hiss snapped a very shocked and confused Sarutobi back to his senses as he starred at the now cursing Naruto.

As he did though he started to see a few things he had previously overlooked. For instance, Naruto's hair was a decent length longer than it had been. It was now about four inches below his shoulder and seemed to be a lot darker than it had been as well. His whiskers marks were also darker like his head and were also a bit thicker than they had been.

But the most notably thing though now were the tattoos that had appeared on his body. On his right arm bicep was the phrase 'My Brothers'. Directly below it he saw names listed.

"_Uchia Sasuke, Sabaku no Gaara, Rock Lee, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Neji, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji,"_ Sarutobi thought in his head as he read down the list of names. And around all of the names was a chain that ran up his arm, onto his shoulder and over to his neck.

On his left bicep however was 'My Sisters' and he started to read off the names again.

"_Haruno Sakura, TenTen, Yamanaka Ino, Sabaku no Temari, Ayame, Shizune, Mitarashi Anko. Interesting," _Sarutobi thought seeing the name. Again around the names was another design except this time it was of roses. They too circled the names up his arm, onto his shoulder, and then finishing off next to his neck.

The most interesting thing he could see though were the tattoos on his chest. For right below his collar bone, circling below his neck line and connecting the chain and the roses together, in very intricate kanji was written 'My Family'.

And on his chest, following the same listing pattern as his arms were more names.

"_Sandaime Hokage- Sarutobi, Iruka-Sensei, Hatake Kakashi, Momochi Zabuza, Haku, Maito Gai, Yuuhi Kurenai, Jirayi-Sensei, Tsunade-Sensei, Okaa-san, Otou-san, Hyuuga Hinata,"_

To say Sarutobi was interested in why these names were now suddenly tattooed onto Naruto who be undermining his curiosity, especially after what he had seen on the boy's back.

There were nine extremely intricate and well done images of the nine tailed demons of legend, starting with Shukaku and ending with Kyuubi, all placed around a seal the likes of which Sarutobi had never seen before in his life. One of the main reasons being that from the markings around the main part of the seal it self there were chains that went up and attached to each image of each demons. Four chains went to the legs, one for each of them, and then an additional amount of chains corresponded to the amount of tails each demon had, with each tail touching and individual chain on it's own.

"Naruto," Sarutobi finally spoke, making the boy look to him with a questioning look, "I don't know what exactly is going on at the moment, especially with you suddenly being able to summon foxes and the Kyuubi no less which should not be possible. And from what you two spoke of, it seems as if there is now more to you than there was before."

Naruto sighed at this as his shoulders slumped.

"_So I guess to Kyuubi was right and has given me a second chance," _Naruto thought grimly as he looked at the awaiting face of the Hokage.

"_This is gonna take a while,"_ Naruto thought as he steel himself to speak, "Well, you are probably going to want to take a seat. This might take a while."

Several hours later found Naruto sitting atop the Hokage monument atop the yondaime's head. It was close to midnight now and Naruto was just starring out over the village, letting a cool but still warm breeze rush over him.

Most of the lights were out now, people having already gone to bed and closed up their shops. There were only a few lights on at several houses and every now and again he saw a blur of movement as various ninja jumped to and fro across the rooftops, making sure that everything was staying protected and calm within the village.

He sighed at the peaceful sight in front of him as an image passed before his minds eye. It was a memory, that much he had gathered from the many flashes that still flashed through his mind.This particular memory was of Konoha burning, the many houses and building smoldering from various that had happened, and the Hokage monument in shambles from an obviously massive battle that had taken place.

As the memory receded to the back of his mind, Naruto couldn't help but sigh again as he leaned back onto his hands and starred up at the starry sky.

"I never took you for the restless star gazer type Naruto," a voice said suddenly behind Naruto but he did not react. He had felt a presence behind him a while ago and knew that someone was watching him.

"Just thinking mostly, Kakashi-san," Naruto said not even turning around to look at the person behind him, his eyes focused on the clear sky above him.

"Kakashi-san?" the voice said again but this time directly over Naruto's head as well as within his view. The person in question had stepped behind him and leaned over into his sight and Naruto was now looking at the upside down face of the owner of the voice.

"Sorry Kakashi-sensei. I've just had a long night and needed to think about a lot of things," Naruto said with another sigh as he sat back up straight and stood up and turned to face Kakashi.

"I can see that," Kakashi said as he looked over his student. "You gave a decent amount of people a good scare today you know that?"

"Yea, oji-san told me as much," Naruto said with a grin as he scratched the back of his head.

"Especially your team, though I believe Sasuke was more curious than anything. Extremely curious actually considering the amount of chakra that you suddenly decided to burn off," Kakashi continued with a pointed look at his student.

"Yea, sorry about that. It was an effect of something old fuzz ball here did," Naruto said pointing at his stomach making Kakashi open his one visible eye a little wider.

"Don't worry, he isn't 'taking me over' or 'trying to break the seal' or anything else that your mind is probably trying to come up with an explanation of what went on today."

"Then why the burst of chakra? You do realize that was probably a greater output than even the Hokage himself can do without using any particular jutsu?"

"Not sure. I just know that at the moment I probably couldn't do anything as spectacular as take on Haku again. Well not for a few days at least," Naruto said turning back to look at the village.

Kakashi had no idea what to say. In a very round about way, Naruto had just answered his question but at the same time not and ended the conversation about the events that had transpired. And the thing that was the most shocking was that Naruto had just done so with a calm and poised expression.

He took another look over his student as he starred over the village from where they were. He was taller than he had been, the only reason he being able to see this was because the normal orange pants Naruto normally wore seemed to be a bit tight on him now as well as about four inches above his sandals. He had on his usual black t-shirt but had forgone the jacket that he normally wore.

But the few things that caught his eye the most were some of the more noticeable as well as subtle changes in his appearance. The more notable ones being his hair, now a lot longer and darker than it had been was now pulled back into short, high ponytail, much like the Shikamaru's. Also, were ever there would be any space of open skin from the neck down, was wrapped completely in bandages, making him wonder what exactly had happened to his student. He had been on the outskirts of town when he had felt the chakra Naruto had released and as he had been rushing to see what was going on.

But when he had got there, ANBU were guarding the area very tightly and the Hokage's figure was seen rushing with two people under his arms back towards the tower, one of them being a distinct orange blur that could only have been Naruto. But since then, the Hokage could not be interrupted from what ever he was doing and no news of where Naruto was had been revealed either until about an hour ago.

Yet as he starred at his student more, he saw more and more subtle changes. The way he stood now was a relaxed one but at the same time ready to move at a moments notice. He stood up straighter now too and had a feeling of calmness just seemed to roll off of him in waves. He still looked like the twelve year old that he was but carried himself in the same way that the Hokage himself did.

After a few minutes of silence though Kakashi decided to break the silence.

"Anyways, the real reason I'm hear is to..."

"give me the form to partake in the chuunin exam right?" Naruto said cutting off the older man who raised a questioning eyebrow as his student turned back around to look at him with a foxy grin.

"Oji-san told me before I left the place that he had brought me to that you had recommended my team and I for the exam. I must say that I am honored at such a request but I can tell the real reason that you are giving us these forms."

"Oh really now?"

"Of course. You don't want Sasuke-teme or myself to pressure Sakura into taking the exam. It does after take three people on a team to enter the exam," Naruto said and had to restrain from laughing as the Kakashi's visible eye nearly doubled in size from shock.

"_How the hell did he figure that out. And what's with the absence of the chan after Sakura?" _Kakashi thought in shock as he starred at the still grinning Naruto.

After a few moments he regain his usual calm appearance and stood up straight again before saying, "Well then, since you figured that part out, I suggest you prepare yourself for the exam. And, I also suggest you don't tell the other two about what you do know. After all, even though this is a team oriented exam, they still need to come to the conclusion of whether or not to do this on their own."

"Don't worry Kakashi-sensei. They won't even need to see me before then," Naruto said with his grin getting wider.

"And why is that?"

"I have something I need to take care of before the exam even starts. It's kinda a mission from the Hokage but more like a request. I'll be back when the exam starts but I can say one thing to you though. Expect the unexpected and take things as they come."

"Pretty cryptic words coming from you don't you think?" Kakashi said with an amused look in his eye.

"Just remember them come the start of the exam, son of the White Fang," Naruto said his face suddenly going serious and deeper than Kakashi had ever heard it before just vanishing in the blink of an eye.

To say Kakashi was surprised was an understatement at what Naruto had said as well as him just suddenly disappearing withing the blink of an eye. He knew it was public knowledge of his fathers accomplishments and he himself had his own name for his own feats.

But to hear about his father's name from one of his students in such a serious tone with an obvious underlying meaning to it was more than unnerving to him.

"_Something has changed you Naruto. But for better or for worse?"_ Kakashi thought as he pondered what his student had said.


	3. Start of Exams

The Heavens Curse

Chapter 2: Start of Exams

"Where the hell is that dobe?" Sasuke questioned rather angrily. He was currently at the bridge near the north gate of Konoha resting against the railing on his arms glaring at his reflection in the water.

Next to him, Sakura was turned the other way, leaning back against the railing as she stared into the sky.

"He should be back today. After all Kakashi-sensei said he would be back today, or at least he was supposed to be back today," Sakura said as he head lolled to the side to look at the last Uchiha. He didn't even bother to look at her though and just kept glaring at his own reflection in the water flowing below the bridge as if it was the cause of his current bad mood.

"That's what has me worried," Sasuke said then thought, "_And besides, why would the Hokage give a mission that would take a few days to that dobe? It's not like he's all that skilled or anything.."_

The sudden flashback of him and Naruto surrounded by ice mirrors fighting the very skilled Haku coming back to him suddenly. It was there he had awakened his Sharingan, but it had not helped him out in the end. If anything, it had caused him a bit more pain by being able to see the ice users movements and try and counter them. And after all of that, Naruto had apparently beaten the hell out Haku after a senbon had knocked him unconscious.

"_How the hell is Naruto getting so strong faster than I am?" _he thought as his mind switched back to what had happened a few days ago. The massive amount of chakra that Naruto had burned off for some odd reason was very unsettling to say the least and he had wanted to talk to him about it ever since. But Naruto was no where to be found and he was hoping more so at the moment that Naruto wold show up so they could take the exam.

"I'm sure hell be fine though. He'll probably be bouncing back any time now with that stupid grin on his face," Sakura mused with a small smile as she turned back to look at the sky.

Her thoughts though where anything but amusing. She still had the scene of Naruto looking at her in horror and muttering that she was dead and had to be an illusion. Not to mention the massive wave of chakra that he had let out after that trying to dispel some sort of illusion.

Needless to say, Sakura was a very curious girl as to what had happened to her hyperactive teammate.

And almost as if she had summoned him with her thought, and orange blur flashed over her field of vision towards the academy. She blinked a few times as he head snapped to follow the quickly fading orange form.

Sasuke had apparently seen or sense the person as well but now wore a smirk.

"So the dobe did come back," he muttered to himself before taking off after the orange blur, Sakura right on his heals following quickly.

When the two got to the academy however, they saw Naruto with his typical fox like grin while scratching the back of his head sheepishly. He was back in his usual bright orange outfit and aside from looking a bit taller than usual, he seemed to look as if nothing had happened a few days ago.

"Hehehe, sorry I'm late you guys," Naruto said after Sasuke and Sakura had appeared in front of them. However, his sheepish introduction was quickly greeted by a painful fist to the head from a decently irked Sakura.

"Damn it Naruto where the hell were you?" Sakura demanded as she stood in front of him fuming.

His body stiffened in response to her tone of questioning as he briefly looked over her shoulder to Sasuke, who had a look of 'You had it coming' plastered into his smirk.

"So... Sorry Sakura-chan. I can't tell you about it. You'd have to ask the Hokage if you want to know," Naruto said as his normally ever present smiled fell into a solemn look for a few seconds, catching both Sasuke and Sakura off guard.

However, the smile was back up in the blink of an eye making them wonder if they had seen the expression at all.

"Well we should go shouldn't we. After all, think of all the strong people we get to face," Naruto said rather loudly, snapping his teammates thoughts back to the fact that they would be taking the Chuunin exam today.

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An hour later found the three walking up to a door on the third floor of the academy labeled 301. Naruto was rubbing a bit of sore spot on his cheek while Sasuke was doing much the same thing while Sakura fawned over Sasuke, asking if he was alright.

They had run into a bit of an altercation on the second floor where two Chuunins were blocking a door that they had placed a genjutsu over to make it look like it was the door to the chuunin exam. The two chuunins had been harassing a person wearing green spandex who was trying to get passed but after they had shown up, Sasuke had pointed out that they were in the way of them getting to where they really needed to go. He also pointed out the genjutsu that was there and the events that followed, especially after they had left to go to the stairs that led to the second floor, led them into a confrontation with the boy dressed in green spandex, who introduced himself as Rock Lee.

The small skirmish that ensued was Naruto rushing in quickly with a few shadow clones that were all easily wiped away, including the real Naruto, with a simple taijutsu move that knocked all of them in the face. Sasuke was next to fight him and was beaten a little faster than Naruto but with a different technique. Lee had even started another move on Sasuke after sending him flying into the air with a well placed kick, but the arrival of Lee's instructor, who looked like an older clone of Lee or Lee was a clone of him, stopped the move reprimanded Lee for even trying to use such a technique.

Needless to say, the two boys were not too happy at the moment after being so swiftly beaten by a guy in green spandex. As they approached the door though, they saw Kakashi leaning against the wall just outside the door, reading his book, waiting for them.

"Ah, so all three of you came, good," Kakashi said as he looked up from his book at the three. His visible eye curved in what could only be dictated as being a smile.

The three questioning looks he received though made his eye crinkle a bit more as if his smile behind his mask widened.

"Why is it good that all three of us came sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Because if one of you had decided you were not ready to take this exam, none of you would. It requires that three people take it," Kakashi said as he stowed his book to look at the shocked faces of his students.

That unnerved him a little bit because he knew Naruto already knew about the choice, but the fact that his face showed genuine shock was making him question who this was.

In the blink of an eye, Kakashi's forehead protector was pulled above his eye as he read the chakra in Naruto's body with the Sharingan before recovering it.

Neither Sasuke or Sakura noticed his lightning fast movement but Naruto did and he suddenly looked very sheepish, especially as Kakashi's eye widened in shock.

"He's at the stone," Naruto said as he placed his hands behind his head with a wide grin.

Kakashi noted the obviously subtle message to not say anything and nodded in silence.

He relaxed visibly at that moment and said, "Well, good luck you three. And always, look underneath the underneath."

With that he vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving two confused students, and one who was smiling like nothing was wrong to take the Chuunin exam.

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"_I can't believe he has the nerve to even pull something like that,"_ Kakashi fumed in his head as ran across rooftops heading towards the memorial stone.

His eye had picked up the chakra signature of a clone on Naruto, though it was nothing like he had ever seen before, it was still a clone. It seemed to be a modification of a Shadow clone but just the thought of Naruto sending a clone to take his exam for him was infuriating him, no matter how ingenious it seemed.

When he arrived at the stone though, he didn't see his pupil anywhere. There was someone there, and they were currently starring at the stone like he did every day. They were dressed in a pair of black cargo pants, much like the ANBU and Jounin wore when on missions. The bottom was wrapped and tucked into a pair of black ninja boots, again like ANBU and Jounin did. His top clothing though was something that made Kakashi stare in awe somewhat. It was a black sleeveless turtle neck shirt with dark orange lines that ran along horizontally from a single vertical line along the spine. It looked much like a tiger's fur though only with the color reversed. All the skin that would be shown however, from his elbow up to his neck was wrapped.

For his forearms though, he had on arm guards that ended just a few inches short of his elbow. They were black with a few odd looking symbols that Kakashi had never seen before, and they were complimented by a pair of black fingerless gloves that had a metal plate on the back of the hand for protection that also had the same odd looking symbols. He also had on a ask similar to Kakashi's that covered the bottom part of his face from his nose down.

However, when Kakashi looked at the persons hair a few things started to click. It was blond spiky hair that was ties into a semi high ponytail on the back of his head and he had a leaf hitai-ate tied around his forehead. The only thing he couldn't see of the person though was their eyes as they were currently closed though looking directly at the stone monument.

The only sound for the next few minutes was the wind as it gently blew through the air ruffling both people's hair. During this time though, Kakashi noticed another presence that arrived shortly after he did. The person was dead silent but at the same time they didn't feel as if they had any harmful intentions.

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A few seconds after Kakashi had left the academy though, five people had landed silently on top of the academy building. All of them had cloaks on, two wore the same, and the other three had on similar ones with a slight variation of what was on them.

The two that were the exact same wore a black cloak that had a high collar that covered the lower half of their face. Embroidered onto the cloak was a large amount of red fluffy clouds that went down as far as the cloak that ended at their ankles. To complete the ensemble though was a circular straw hat that had white strips of cloth sewn to the center that went out over the side to further cover their faces. At the right most strip a bell hung slightly from the brim of the hat that jingled when they chose to move heavily.

Both wearers were men from how close the cloaks were to their bodies but one was definitely taller than the other and a little taller than one of the other three cloak wearing individuals.

The other three however from the front had the same cloak. It was solid black with a hood that, since it was pulled up, hid their faces in the shadows of the hood completely. From the hood though on either side near the neck, two silvery threads dangled to help tighten the hood to their heads. Then down the center of the front was a zipper that went from the neck line all the way down to where the cloak ended, also at the ankles. At the neck however there was a small metal chain that went from one edge of the neck line to the other, fastening to make sure the two sides stayed together.

The back however was very different for each of them. On the tallest one, also a man, there was what looked like a beautiful white tropical bird with gold feathers scattered within its wings and tail feathers. Next to him, a woman, had a similar bird on her back except it was a dark blue with patches of emerald where the gold would be. And finally, the other man had a dark red and gold dragon that was coiled on his back, its wings spread wide so each tip was touching his shoulders.

"So this is Konoha huh? Kinda dull looking," the tall man with the red cloud cloak said.

"Yes, it is," the man next to him said, a slight hint of solemnness in his voice.

"Is that emotion I hear from the great emotionless one for his own town?" the same tall man asked with a bemused tone.

"I have unfinished business here, you know that," the man said simply.

"So do you think this plan will work?" the man with the dragon asked, his voice calm but at the same time elegant.

"It should. When have I ever lead you wrong," the woman said, a confident tone and aura radiating from her.

"Would you like me to list a few?" the white bird man said with a very amused tone. The woman just crossed her arms an snorted in defeat.

"Anyways, its already been taken care of you three. You are under the hidden village of the spirits. It should help with your more... unique gifts. Good luck," the smaller red clouded man said before he and the other one vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Think this is worth everything?" the dragon man asked once the other two were gone.

"No doubt about it. Take everything as they come and deal with the now. We should be fine, after all, how many other people do you think are like us?" the woman asked and the dragon man just chuckled slightly.

"Not many."

"Let's not keep these people waiting though," the other man said and in the blink of an eye without a sound the three were gone from the roof tops.

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"Hokage-sama," Kakashi whispered quietly without turning away from starring at the blond man in front of him.

"I see you are here for some answers as well?" Sarutobi asked from behind Kakashi, which was responded with with a silent nod. The two men were both starring at the person before them, or rather what should be the hyperactive kid they knew.

They were a little unnerved though when tears started to leak out from the corner of his eyes and in less than ten seconds he slid to his hands and knees and was sobbing softly with his head bowed down. After a few more seconds, his head was lifted up and the two caught the sight of the two bloodshot blue eyes of Naruto.

They looked directly at the two men, and both of them, for whatever reason, could somehow feel an immense amount of sorrow flowing through them as well an ancientness coming from within.

"Is this hell?" Naruto croaked out, his voice a little hoarse as he asked the two older men this.

Both older men looked at him with a a large amount of shock written on their faces. The Hokage was the first to come to his sense quickly as he smiled as best he could at Naruto and asked, "And why do you ask that Naruto?"

"Because this," he started as he waved his hands around, "must be torture of some sort. Everyone I've ever known, every person I've held precious, ever person I have ever loved has died in front of my own eyes either by my hand or because of me. Yet, here I am, and all of them are here and only know me for what I am as how I act now, not what I am."

He had started somewhat calm at the start, but by then end, he was having trouble forming the words he said. The man they had seen in Naruto as he had stood looking at the stone with closed eyes had completely changed now into what could only be described as a truly heart broken and lost child.

Both Sarutobi and Kakashi moved slowly to the crying boys side, for even though he stood, carried himself as, and looked like a man, he was still almost thirteen years old. Both of them knew of the type of life he had and now here he was, having a breakdown to that of someone who had just lost someone. And from what he said, apparently he had lost more than what they thought. Especially for Sarutobi since the night Naruto had awoken.

**FLASHBACK**

"_You may want to take a seat old man, this may take a while," Naruto had said to him and he had complied by pulling up a chair and telling an ANBU that he had summoned somehow that he was to no be disturbed at all until he left the room or sent for one of them._

_It was silent for nearly ten minutes after Sarutobi sat down before Naruto decided to look up from his starring spot on the bed._

"_I guess the easiest place to start would probably would be with the markings on my back since you already know of the Kyuubi and everything," Naruto said but his tone made it more of a question than anything to see if that was a good place to start._

_Sarutobi took a deep puff of his pipe, already feeling that this could not be a good thing if the Kyuubi was involved. After a short period he nodded to Naruto._

"_Well, more or less, that big tattoo on my back is a seal. It's one very similar to the one my d... Yondaime-sama used to seal the Kyuubi into me," Naruto said but had to stop as Sarutobi's pipe fell from his grip and clattered to the floor. His eyes were very large as he starred at Naruto shaking, and his eyes showing a great deal of fear for where this was going._

_Naruto sighed at the reaction, expecting it somewhat, but at the same time it still hurt to get it from the first person to have ever talked to him on friendly manner and who had always been kind to him._

"_This damn seal is the reason why those bastard Akatsuki want me and the reason why Yondaime-sama chose me to be the container for the Kyuubi," Naruto said and then sighed again before continuing, "I know you already know the reason that a baby has no developed chakra coils and that by implanting the seal into me, my coils would develop to adapt to the demonic chakra that Kyuubi had. They want to seal, well let's just say that they want to make me the most powerful person on the face of the planet yet still be able to control me."_

_Sarutobi was still shocked beyond belief at what Naruto had just told him. His spies had just started to pick up information on the Akatsuki, and here Naruto was spouting off information that would probably have taken them years to find out. Speechlessness was not doing him justice as his mind raced with hundreds of questions but the one that popped out of his mouth just confused him further._

"_And what of the chains that hold the beasts down on you back?"_

_Naruto looked away from him as the air instantly shifted and his entire mannerism changed._

"_They are secondary seals," he said barely loud enough for Sarutobi to hear, but laden with immense guilt, "Those I cared about most had to give their lives in one way or another to stop me. They... they gave their lives... to stop me from what I had become... a monster."_

**END FLASHBACK**

Sarutobi sighed deeply at the memory before standing up straight and walked over to where Naruto was still sobbing with his head down again. He placed a hand on his shoulder, getting the boy to look up at him with those lost and pained eyes.

He flinched inwardly, praying for a sudden forgiveness, before in the blink of an eye he slammed a chakra enhanced fist into Naruto's face that sent him flying towards the training ground area.

Kakashi was shocked to say the least, but understood at least a little as to why Sarutobi did what he had just done. What he didn't expect though was for the old man to start shaking his hand slightly and swearing about the youth and their hard heads.

"Kakashi, go and tell the ANBU to keep peace in the city. I have a feeling this could get a bit ugly," Sarutobi said fiercely after he had stopped shaking his hand then disappearing.

Kakashi just looked at the spot the old man had been standing in before shaking his head and sprinting for the Hokage tower to tell the ANBU of his orders.

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About a few hundred yards from where he had been kneeling about ten seconds ago, Naruto twisted in the air to land on his feet right before Sarutobi landed three feet in front of him, his Hokage robes gone and his battle uniform now adorned.

"What the hell was that for Oji-san?" Naruto demanded, more than a little peeved about the old mans action.

"You said you were a monster and apparently you believe it without thought. Well if that is the case, then I must protect this village and defeat you," Sarutobi said, choosing his words very carefully.

He visibly saw Naruto's anger raise at that comment and was leveled with a glare that started to make him rethink his current choice of actions for the boy.

"I cannot hurt you old man and you know that," Naruto all but growled.

"Then defeating you will be easier," Sarutobi said before vanishing from Naruto's sight.

He appeared behind Naruto, his fist ready to smack some sense in the boy when the boy just seemed to turn so fast he wondered if he had actually gone behind Naruto in the first place. However, Naruto grabbed both of the Hokage's hands that had been made to deliver a hammer slam to the back of the neck, and glared intently at Sarutobi.

"Fine, you want to see me as what I am, then so be it," Naruto growled so low and well that the Hokage was having trouble again processing the mess he had just got himself into.

What came next though was something that brought Konoha to a standstill.

A massive wave of killing intent flooded through the air,literally drying everyone's mouths out before another wave passed over them, except this time it was chakra. Both waves easily rolled off of Naruto to the walls of Konoha before, which became very visible to everyone withing the walls or outside them for a good couple of miles, a massive burst of chakra that exploded into the air and stayed there for nearly two minutes.

"You see why I am a monster, _Sandaime-sama," _ Naruto said venomously to Sarutobi as he still had his hands held in the air, "This is only a fraction of the power that the only people I have ever loved gave their lives to save. I should be dead. Something like me should not exist outside of anything that is not the most foulest of hells."

The chakra that was coming off of Naruto had the third shaking from the raw display of power. And after his speech, it seemed to only intensify. What was worse though was that Sarutobi had expected some show of chakra like this coming from the Kyuubi, but this was all coming from Naruto. It was hundreds of times more than any normal human should ever be able to obtain, period. But here was Naruto, releasing enough chakra that would take every citizen in Konoha to be at Jounin level in order to even come close.

But it was then that Sarutobi remembered what the Kyuubi had said before disappearing just a few short nights ago. And currently he prayed that Naruto could see the truth in the words he was about to say.

The warm but sad smile came back to his face as he looked Naruto directly in the eye.

"Did they not give you a second chance though to try and redeem yourself?" he asked, his mood now very solemn.

Naruto was caught off guard by the sudden change in the old mans mood and his chakra stopped just as suddenly as it has came. This gave the Hokage the opening he needed and he quickly released himself from Naruto's hold before slamming another chakra enhanced punch into the boys face, laying him out flat on the ground.

"Those who gave their lives for you did so for a reason Naruto. I do not pretend to know what sort of pain that has been forced upon you, but I can tell you that this is no way to treat their sacrifice," Sarutobi scolded as he looked down at the boy who had only managed to return to his hand and knees.

"I don't think you understand Sarutobi-sama. My entire family, I ripped them apart. Their blood is on my hands," Naruto said as he sat back on his legs and starred at his still shaking hands. "Even my own sister... I killed them all because I could do nothing to stop what I had become. She... everyone deserved better than that. It should have been me that died, not them."

Sarutobi was now shocked in mid step again as Naruto said his words.

"How... how do you..."

But the old man never even got to finish his sentence as a very familiar and extremely powerful red chakra started to swirl around Naruto. The boy screamed in pain as the chakra flared to life but only a few moments later he collapsed onto the ground in front of him unconscious. The red chakra remained though ad continued to swirl around him until it literally just removed itself from Naruto and a clone of the boy appeared next to him.

Sarutobi was frozen in fear as the concentrated wave of killing intent washed over him. There was only one being he knew of that could unleash that level of such a vile feeling.

"Kyu...Kyuubi..." he whispered out in fear as the clone body of Naruto stood up from its position on the ground. The clone had its eyes closed as it stood but the second it was standing at its fool height, its eyes opened revealing the red slitted eyes of the Kyuubi. Sarutobi was immediately frozen in where he stood, unsure if it was from the Kyuubi, or from his own fear.

But, even as he starred at the cloned Kyuubi Naruto, he did not expect it to turn suddenly to the boy neck to him and kneel next to him. It then placed a glowing red hand over the boys back which glowed for about a minute before both the killing intent and the glowing died away, but the clone was still there.

"The boy will be fine, he is still a bit drained and confused from everything that has happened to him lately," the clone said, the voice coming from it sounding what Sarutobi could only guess might be Naruto's voice if he were about thirty years older.

He flinched visibly when the red eyes turned to him again though and without thinking took an involuntary step back. The clone just sighed as it closed its eyes.

"You have no need to fear me old man. I'm not here to attack anyone or anything. I'm just here to explain to you what the kit was babbling about," the clone said as it turned to a tree and opened its eyes again, "And you can stop hiding in the trees Hatake. You should here this as well."

A rustle of leaves was the only visible sign that anyone was ever at the scene. Kakashi, who had come running as fast as he could when he felt the massive chakra wave roll over the village, had stopped to watch what was going right at the point where Sarutobi implanted Naruto into the ground. However, right now, looking at a clone of his student that had the consciousness of a being that took the life of his sensei, he was more than unnerved when it addressed him and told him that he should be listening to something it had to say.

Thoughts turmoiled within his head as he tried to think of some explanation for everything but eventually chalked it up to the fact Naruto was was always one to surprise people. So, he jumped down next to a still frozen in place Sarutobi and looked at the clone that was now looking back at the boy they knew as Naruto.

"To start off, what the kit said about all of us being sealed in him was true. From where he is from, Akatsuki managed to capture all of the Biju and sealed the other eight into him, seeing as how they couldn't pull me out of him," the clone started, "But even before the sealing, his mind was shattered."

"What do you mean shattered?" Kakashi couldn't help but ask. Sure Naruto was a goof but he did have a pure, though prankster, mind that seemed incorruptible.

"I'm sure you have noticed his rivalry with that black haired flesh bag?" the clone questioned with venom in his tone as it looked back over to a now stunned Kakashi and a now recomposed Sarutobi. The only person with black hair that they both knew associated with Naruto on a daily basis was Sasuke and they were slightly unnerved to see how venomous the Kyuubi was in referring to him.

They both nodded, though still slightly confused and shocked.

"Well from where this Naruto came from, the flesh bag betrayed this village. He left of his own accord for selfish reasons. The two fought and in the end, he left the kit here in a near death state. But to make things worse, the little bastard did it for the wrong reasons and he even knew that snake bastard was after his eyes. Well, he eventually managed to get them and to make things short, he started the path down the damnation that ensued."

"Naruto... he tried to stop it all, but failed because he couldn't kill the damn flesh bag. That caused him to get captured by those damn Akatsuki, and he truly didn't care anymore. To him, his world was shattered because he couldn't keep his promise to the loud pink one. And once they found they couldn't extract me because of the seal, they decided to enslave his mind and seal the rest of the tailed lords in him."

The Kyuubi stopped for a minute at this point for the two men to process what he had already said but at the same time he looked at the still unconscious Naruto with sad eyes. Kakashi and Sarutobi saw this plain as day, and were more than curious as to why the great Kyuubi no Kitsune would look at a human with such sad eyes.

"What happened then?" Sarutobi asked, finding his voice finally amongst his storming thoughts.

"The kit..." Kyuubi started and both men had to blink as they saw tears start to flow from the demon clones eyes as it still starred at Naruto, "... those bastards turned him loose on the world. The chakra of all of us was too much to be held in one spot and he went on a rampage. None of us could get through to him save one woman. I don't remember her name, just the sad look of those white eyes. It was only after the kit had... literally torn her in half and her her whisper something that he snapped out of what ever slaved mind the Akatsuki had put him in, but his power was still reckless. He turned it on them and managed to wipe them out. By the time he had beaten the last one though, the world was in shambles. He freed all of us before he died, but the kit didn't deserve that fate. No one deserved what had happened to him once those bastards got a hold of him. We decided to give him a second chance and brought him back to a point where he might change things for the better."

"So that was what happened to him a three days ago?" Sarutobi asked, his mind starting to sort all of the information out.

"Yes, though the only people who probably had it the worst from the sudden jump in chakra were the kit, that tanuki kid, and the ice girl the kit brought back today," the Kyuubi replied as it dried its eyes quickly regaining its composure to look back at a now nodding Sarutobi, and thunder struck Kakashi.

Sarutobi though was currently running the story through his head trying to sort out everything while Kakashi was still flabbergasted at the entire thing. Both men where still confused as hell why this all was happening, even with the Kyuubi explaining it but one thing poked out in Sarutobi's mind that didn't fit with the demons explanation.

"He said those he cared about the most gave their lives to form the chains on the seal on his back, but at the same time he said he killed his family. He even said his sister, whom I thought no one knew about," Sarutobi questioned in a confused but soft tone.

The Kyuubi clone could only chuckle at the question as it turned its gaze back to Naruto.

"That would be something the kit would say. He's referring to the girl who likes weapons whom I guess you already know. I didn't really catch her name but she probably has more weapons on her than that yellow haired flesh bag that sealed me in the kit. I'll have to thank him for that one day though. Anyway, what he meant when he was referring to the seals was us Biju. We had to use our power to block our power. It had an odd effect as it merged out chakra with the kits but the chains more or less became what you would call his celestial gates. And at the same time, our souls became bound with his, though still separate somehow. By then, the poor kit thought we were the only ones that could ever care about him."

Both Kakashi's and Sarutobi's jaw only dropped open more at this. All of the information the Kyuubi was giving them was something neither of them felt that their minds could handle, but somehow it was, though both thought, "_I'm going to need a drink after this._"

It was silent for a few more moments before the stirring of Naruto brought all three set of eyes back to him. Naruto raised himself to his hands and knees shakily as he coughed a few times, his eyes shut tight as an obvious pain racked though his body as he coughed.

"Ah damn, what the hell happened?" Naruto mumbled to himself as he tried to clear his senses again with his eyes closed.

"You passed out kit," a deep voice said from his left and his eyes snapped open as his head whipped to the left to look at the clone of himself with the Kyuubi features.

"Kyuubi?" Naruto asked as his head scanned the area but froze when he saw the still gob smacked Kakashi and Sarutobi.

He could only sigh at the sight and turned to the clone.

"You told them didn't you?"

"Only because I know you wouldn't. They at least deserve to know anyways kit. I didn't tell them everything that happened, only the most important parts they need to know right now. It's up to you to tell them the rest if you so choose. Now I am going back to sleep. I'm still not at full and you wont be either for a couple of months, possibly years," the Kyuubi clone said and then in a puff of red smoke simply disappeared.

"I guess now is about the time you probably want me to leave," Naruto said solemnly as he sighed and stood up. He dusted the front of his clothes off and the action seemed to snap the two older men out of their stupors.

"Naruto," the calm voice of the Hokage called making the blond turn to look at the smiling old man and the serious looking Kakashi.

"We do not want you to leave. After all, not many get a second chance at life and yet here you are, getting that chance. This is your home and I'll be damned if I let what happened to you happen again," the old man said, the warmth and caring nature in his voice radiating with every word.

"Th... thank you... Oji-san, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said as raised his hand to his face and removed the mask to show the first genuine smile the two could ever remember him actually showing.

However after a few heartfelt quite moments, Naruto's smile disappeared as something clicked in his head.

"Hey Oji-san, won't the exams be canceled because of the the chakra I released?"

Both Kakashi and Sarutobi looked at each other for a moment before looking back to Naruto with a stern expression.

"No, I don't think the exam will stop because unless the village is truly in danger. However, you do have to answer for why you sent a shadow clone to take your place. That is very much against the rules Naruto, even for how brilliant it may seem," Kakashi said, his one visible eyes borderline glaring at the now blushing blond.

"I just thought that some things probably shouldn't change. Besides, I don't think I can face everyone just yet. Not after what I did to them. Even if I haven't done what I did yet, the memories are still fresh," Naruto said quietly as he looked at the ground.

The two understood immediately why he had sent the clone to take his place and could understand why he had done what he did.

"That still doesn't excuse you though Naruto. That is a very dangerous gamble. One hit from anyone could take that thing out," Sarutobi stated.

"I know, but I told the clone to be careful to not get himself hit by anybody. Not until the second part comes at least," Naruto said.

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At that same time though, the first part of the Chuunin exam had concluded. The gennin in the room where shocked at how exactly how the exam had ended and a few were still questioning Ibiki on the point of what was going on.

However, at that same time, a few were looking out the window out of the corner of their eyes, even as the second proctor made her appearance, though she appeared more shaky than anything.

"_What was that chakra? It was massive and clearly visible? Who could wield such power?" _Neji thought and shivered while thinking about exactly what and who could have possibly released the massive chakra.

"_That chakra, it's just like what happened to Naruto? What is going on?"_ Sakura thought as she looked over to her blond haired teammate, who had looked like he wasn't even phased from the release of chakra that had swept the entire building, and for all she knew the entire village. He had tensed about ten seconds before the massive wave made itself visible and and collided with the building but now he was acting like nothing was wrong in the world.

"_What the hell was that?"_ Sasuke thought as he tried to think of what could have released so much power and thinking of ways to somehow obtain it.

Everyone's attention though was brought back to the front of the room as a shrill whistle made them all look that way to where Ibiki and the woman named Anko now stood.

"Alright you brats, follow me to training ground 44 for the next part of this exam," Anko said, with her evil smile and creepy tone of voice before walking to the door the door that the gennin had used to enter the classroom, the remaining gennin hopefuls following her quickly and quietly.

It took about five minutes before they reached the intended area ground and to say most of the gennin were unnerved at the sight was an understatement. The barbed wire fence with the many death signs on it were rather imposing, though the extremely large trees that the fence surrounded didn't help either.

"Welcome brats to the second test area. Training ground 44, A.K.A. The Forest of Death," Anko said, her smile widening and the sheer evil that seemed to role of her making more than one gennin take a step back in fear of something bad happening to them. It was even more so though because of the wave of chakra they had all felt during the first part of the exam.

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A/N: Hey, hope all of you liked this chapter. I know its a bit long but hopefully I spaced out all the information for you so it was easier to read. Anyways, Thanks to all who reviewed the other parts of my story and I hope you continue to enjoy it. So as always, remember to click that little button over there in the left corner and review .


	4. The Forest of Death

The Heavens Curse

Chapter 3: The Forest of Death

"_Alright you brats, follow me to training ground 44 for the next part of this exam," Anko said, with her evil smile and creepy tone of voice before walking to the door the door that the gennin had used to enter the classroom, the remaining gennin hopefuls following her quickly and quietly._

_It took about five minutes before they reached the intended area ground and to say most of the gennin were unnerved at the sight was an understatement. The barbed wire fence with the many death signs on it were rather imposing, though the extremely large trees that the fence surrounded didn't help either._

"_Welcome brats to the second test area. Training ground 44, A.K.A. The Forest of Death," Anko said, her smile widening and the sheer evil that seemed to role of her making more than one gennin take a step back in fear of something bad happening to them. It was even more so though because of the wave of chakra they had all felt during the first part of the exam._

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"Okay listen up as I state the rules for this part of the exam. The objective here is to make it to the center of this forest to this tower," Anko said as she held up a map for everyone to see as she pointed at a specific spot on the map.

Everyone quickly took not of the tower and the massive forest surrounding it before Anko stowed the map back from where ever she had produced it from.

"The forest around this tower is ten kilometers in every direction and you will be given a total of one hundred and twenty hours to get to the tower," Anko stated and then paused to see peoples reactions.

"Five days?" Kiba's voice shouted out incredulously, as if this task would be the easiest in the world.

"Yep five days. However, here is the best part. Each team will be given one of these scrolls," Anko continued as she held up a blue scroll with the kanji earth on it and a white with the kanji heaven,"Now, each team will only be given one of these two scrolls. In order to get into the tower, a team must hold a set of scrolls, one heaven, one earth. If your team doesn't have a set of scrolls by the end of the five days, you don't pass. Also, if you arrive at the tower without your entire team, you automatically fail. And finally, if you open a scroll before you enter the tower, you will also automatically fail," Anko stated with another scary grin creeping across her face as she leaked out a bit of killing intent onto the gennin.

"_So that's what she meant by cutting us down by at least half," S_akura thought as she looked to her two teammates. Sasuke seemed to be in as much thought as she was. His face was furrowed as he looked at the woman but every now and then he would scowl at something he was thinking, but at least he was thinking about something.

Naruto however looked as if he wasn't even paying attention. His eyes were not on the forest nor on Anko, who was currently informing the group about the waver forms that they would have thirty minutes to fill out and bring back as a team to receive their scrolls before having to go to a designated start area to wait for the second part to start.

His face was nothing akin to paying attention. Rather it looked like he was shocked, and at the same time had a sense of longing in it.

"_What the hell is he looking at?"_ Sakura thought as she followed the direction of his gaze.

When she came across team 8 of the rookie nine, she became more confused. Kiba had Akamaru sitting atop his head as they listened and Shino was impossible to read as no one could see the emotions dues to his sunglasses and the high collar of his coat. Hinata on the other hand was standing behind Shino, her head barely peeking from around him looking at where Anko was but her eyes were twitching every now and then to where Naruto was standing and she only blushed as she saw him looking over in her teams direction.

"_Is he starring at Hinata?"_ Sakura thought as she turned back to Naruto. Once she did though she, and probably everyone else saw the annoyed look on Anko's face.

Then, with blinding speed to a gennin, a kunai was in her hand before being thrown at Naruto. She had been saying something directly at him for about a minute now but she had received no response as he was too preoccupied with what ever he was starring at.

It zipped at him, directly at his cheek, just to get his attention. She even drew another kunai that she was going to use to try and scare him a little more after the shock of suddenly being cut.

What she didn't expect though was the second the kunai touched his cheek, he vanished in a cloud of smoke. Not only that but the other kunai she had drawn was being held to her throat while it was in her own hand and another firmer and stronger hand had a hold of it. And to make matters worse, the grip was like a vice but at the same time not painful, that is if she didn't try to move.

"You should be a little bit more silent Anko-san," a voice whispered in her ear, the soft deep voice overly calming, even with a kunai to her throat.

Her anger flared for a moment as she was caught off guard and she twisted her head slightly to see who her assailant was. When she did her jaw nearly dropped, as did a few of the gennins. There standing behind her was none other than Uzumaki Naruto, but not the Naruto that she had just thrown a kunai at a few seconds ago. His entire appearance had changed.

"You should remember to look underneath the underneath better you know," he whispered into her ear again, his voice still soothing.

That simple comment alone brought a grin to her face as she leaned closer to his ear, making sure not to press her body against the kunai still positioned to kill her, and said, "Then you should pay more attention to your surroundings and to those who are speaking to you."

"Hn." Naruto snorted with a smirk, or what she thought was one with his Kakashi styled mask, as he released his grip and Anko righted her self as she stowed her kunai away, completely forgetting about the one she had thrown. Once she was standing away from him again, he bowed slightly, still with what looked like a smirk on his face but also with a wink as she looked at her eyes. Her grin only widened to a sinister level before she turned back to the other gennin who where looking at her with shocked faces.

"Okay, everyone come and get your forms. In thirty minutes, you and your team will bring them back to this tent to get your scroll and then be escorted to your starting positions," Anko said then spent the next six or so minutes handing out the waver forms for this part of the exam.

Naruto was the one who collected the forms for his team and presented one to Sasuke and Sakura before they could even move to get one from Anko.

After handing them to his teammates though, Naruto turned around.

"Oi, Naruto," Sasuke said before Naruto could take a few steps away from him and Sakura.

"Yea teme?" Naruto asked without even looking over his shoulder back at his two teammates.

"Who the hell are you?" Sasuke demanded as he withdrew a kunai from his pouch and readied it.

Naruto's shoulders visible stiffened before slumping and turning back around to look at an angry and curious Sakura.

"Put the kunai away teme, I'm just going to say good luck to the others," Naruto said before turning back around and walking off.

Both Sasuke's and Sakura's jaws went slack at what just happened. Naruto had completely blown them off like it was nothing, something he had never done before. They looked to each other with boggled eyes before turning back to stare at the direction Naruto had gone.

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"Hey Naruto! What are you doing over here?" Kiba asked as he saw the person in question walking up to them.

At the mention of Naruto's name though an almost inaudible 'eep' was heard from his left and he felt his teammate who was there literally try and hide behind him.

"_Ah man. Does she really have to use me as a hiding post. It's not like Naruto actually will notice her or anything even if she admitted her feelings to his face," _Kiba thought as he watched Naruto come over.

"Hey guys, and I just wanted to wish you guys luck okay? Can't a comrade wish his fellow comrades good luck?" Naruto asked, his voice showing a bemused tone.

"Whatever dead last. Nice clothes though," Kiba said with a smirk.

"I'm serious you guys, be careful," Naruto said in a very serious tone, which caught Kiba, Shino, and Hinata off guard. Naruto was never serious about anything.

But before any of them could respond, Naruto took a step around Kiba and looked at a somewhat shocked and now blushing Hinata.

Their eyes meet each others gaze and Hinata felt her breath leave her as the heat in her face increased as well. His eyes had changed from what she had remembered, now having slits for pupils like a cat, while at the same time she saw an immense guilt behind the normally cheerful mask he always put up. He also got a glaze to his eyes as if he had started to take a trip down memory lane and the guilt was soon accompanied by great pain.

"N...Naruto-kun. A-Are you o-okay?" Hinata asked in a stutter that was barely above a whisper.

Naruto shook his head quickly at this as if trying to get something off of his face before looking back into her eyes, the mask on his face lifting into what had to be a smile underneath.

"I'm fine Hinata-chan. I just wanted to give you something before the second part of the exam starts," Naruto said and without ever breaking his look into her eyes pulled something out of his pocket.

It was a thin black velvet box and he handled it very carefully as he pulled it out. He then broke eye contact as he took her hands and placed the box in both of her hands gently.

"Wear this and if you ever need help, just channel some chakra into this. You'll know what I mean when you do," Naruto said softy to her as he looked back up at her briefly before turning around to walk past a visible shocked Shino and Kiba. As he did though he stopped briefly and said in a very subdued and quiet tone, "Take care of Hinata-chan for me. I don't want her getting hurt."

With that he simply left leaving the two other gennin to look at each other with shock as Hinata was starring at his retreating back with wide eyes as she clutched the box to her chest.

"_Naruto-kun... he... cares about me... and... he called me Hinata-chan..." _Hinata thought as her face seemed to invent new shades of red on the spot.

"Did he just do what I think he did?" Kiba asked quietly as he too turned to look at the back of Naruto.

"It would seem that he has finally noticed," Shino said quietly but equally as shocked.

"What happened to the Naruto we knew?" Kiba asked himself to no one in particular. He and his team were silent after that, even after they had turned in their forms and got their forms for their scroll. Something was off, that much Kiba and Shino were sure of, as was Hinata as well but she was still off in la-la land for the time be thinking of what Naruto had said to her.

By the time they had made it to their gate though, she had remembered that the thing clutched desperately to her chest was what Naruto had given to help her and her team in case of an emergency and she opened it slightly, both Kiba and Shino standing behind her, curious as well as to what Naruto had given her.

What they saw took their breath away. It was a necklace with very exquisite ornament adorning it. It was of a two tailed tiger that looked like it was about to pounce on its prey. It and the chain were both a polished silver but the eyes of the tiger gleamed in the suns rays, showing they were a jewel of some sort.

"Beautiful..." Hinata whispered in awe as she pulled the necklace out of the box. Kiba let out a low whistle as well while Shino's eyebrows raised above his glasses slightly.

"_Naruto-kun got this... for me,"_ Hinata thought as she moved the necklace to her neck and attached it it there letting the pendant fall gently on her chest before she stowed the box away in her pouch.

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"You guys ready?" Naruto asked as he came back up to a slightly chatting Sasuke and Sakura.

The two stiffened at his voice and turned to see him with still questioning eyes. Naruto sighed at this as he lifted his hand to his mask and pulled it down.

"Come on guys so I changed a bit. Nothing to get all frantic over," Naruto said as he gave his best fox like grin.

The two kept their eyes on him for a moment before looking to each other and nodding before turning back to Naruto.

"Don't think you are out of this yet Naruto," Sakura stated with a firm tone and an almost sadistic glare in her eye.

"Yea, you'll be answering a few question when this exam is over dobe," Sasuke added, his usual smirk in place.

"Fine, fine. Let's just get our forms turned in and to our spot okay," Naruto said as he started to walk to the booth where they were supposed to turn in their forms for their scroll.

Twenty minutes later found all of the gennin partaking in the exam at their designated starting spots and waiting for the signal to start the second part of the Chuunin exam. A lot of them were nervous as they starred into the creepy looking Forest of Death. They all however were slightly jittery with anticipation.

At the sound of the buzzer above the gates, and the gates themselves opening, each gennin team took off like a bat out of hell towards the center of the forest where the tower was. Some when to look for other teams while others were trying to find a good place for ambushes.

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke however, were staying to the highest branches of the forest as they raced to the tower. Naruto was in front of the two and was leading them like a mad man from hell as he kept pressing forward.

"Naruto! Slow down! We have five days to get to the tower and find the other scroll!" Sakura yelled after the first thirty minutes of the intense speed.

It was blistering trying to keep up with Naruto as he was running at a dead sprint and she and Sasuke were hard pressed to keep up, though Sasuke seemed to be having a much easier time than she was.

Naruto however heard her and slowed down enough so he was still running but in between Sasuke and Sakura.

"Get on," he said in a firm tone as he motioned to his back.

Sakura gave him one look before her brow furrowed and retorted, "I'm fine Naruto. We just need to slow down or we will burn ourselves out."

"Stop complaining and just get on damn it. We'll rest once we are at the tower," Naruto said in a vicious tone that made even Sasuke flinch away from him for a second.

Sasuke however was wondering why Naruto was so adamant about getting to the tower now. They had plenty of time to get their and they still needed to get the other scroll so they could even enter the tower.

Sakura however was scared out of her wits by the intense glare she got from Naruto as he said his words and immediately followed what he had said. The second she was piggy back on him though, his speed increased dramatically as he called out to Sasuke, "Keep up teme."

Sakura had to grip her arms around Naruto's neck tightly at the sudden acceleration in speed. It was mind boggling at how fast Naruto was moving and Sasuke too was more than stunned at the blonds ridiculous speed as he tried his best to keep up with him.

It only took the three about twenty minutes to reach the tower at the speed they were going and when they did, Naruto let Sakura off his back slowly, who promptly dropped to the ground on her rear and was trying to catch her breath. Somewhere along the fast ride she had lost the wind in her lungs and was now trying to get it back. Sasuke wasn't in much better shape as he was bent over on his knees breathing heavily, gulping down air to try and regain some of his stamina back.

"What... the hell... is up... with getting here... so damn... fast Naruto?" Sasuke asked between gulps of air. Sakura would have asked the same question but she was having a harder time trying to get the air back in her lungs.

Naruto however, didn't even look winded from the fast paced sprint. He didn't answer Sasuke's question either as he starred at the direction they had come from.

"_That should hold that snake bastard off for a while,"_ Naruto thought as he continued to stare, looking for any sign of something out of the ordinary.

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"So that's him huh?" a man in a black cloak with a blue bird that had emerald feathers in spots asked to the two people next to him.

"So it would seem. He seems... different though? Why is that?" the woman with a white and gold bird on her cloak answered. She was squatting directly to the left of the man with the blue bird on the back of his cloak and all three were watching Team 7 from a tree branch above the group.

"Yea but I am amazed he made it here this quickly. Even for the stamina freak that sensei said he was, getting here this fast without our powers is a bit disturbing," the man with the red and gold dragon on his back said.

"True. But we know why he is that fast as well. Plus sensei has to talk to the old man about what is going on," the woman said as she stood up from her observing position.

"We still have our mission though. So let's not screw this up at all okay?" the blue birded one said.

"Oh this coming from the person who always likes to break the rules no matter where the hell he is?" the dragon man asked in an amused tone.

"Watch it snake boy," the other man growled out but before anything could happen the woman moved between the two and smacked them both on the back of the head.

"Both of you watch it. We have our mission and sensei is gonna skin us alive if we do mess this up so no more bickering," the woman scolded before the two males grumbled something under their breath.

Each grumble got them another smack to the head before they both just nodded at the woman.

"Alright already. Jeez," the blue birded man said before all three of them vanished without making a sound.

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"Man I can't believe how easy that was," Kiba stated as he tossed his teams newly acquired Heaven scroll into the air before catching it and putting it into his pouch, "I mean they feel for that trap so easily. It was like taking candy from a baby."

"Don't get cocky Kiba. We are not home free yet," Shino said to the dog user.

"S-Shino-kun is right K-Kiba-kun. We s-should get to the t-tower quickly," Hinata stammered out from in between her two teammates.

"Ah man you guys are no fun," Kiba said as he crossed his arms and pouted a bit. His pout was cut off though as his nin-dog that was on the ground walking beside him whined and jumped into Kiba's coat where it shivered in fright.

The three stopped as they looked at the frightened puppy, Kiba especially.

"Hey whats wrong buddy?" Kiba asked, a bit worried as well. The dog whined a bit more in response and his eyes opened a bit wider in shock.

"What's wrong?" Shino asked as he took out a kunai from his pouch. He and Hinata had never seen the small dog so terrified before and was curious as to what would make it so fearful.

"He senses something ahead of us that is really strong. Hinata, can you check it?" Kiba asked as he tried to calm Akamaru down some.

Hinata nodded as she made a seal with her hand. "_Byakugan," _she whispered as the veins on her eyes bulged. Her sight expanded and she focused hard to look at the area in front of them.

What she saw were two teams up ahead of them, one larger than the others but the other she realized had the boy with the large gourd on his back.

"Two teams... up ahead," she whispered out so only her teammates could hear her.

"We should just get to the tower. Let them have their fight," Shino stated and started to move in a direction that would take them around the two teams in front of them to the tower.

Not five minutes off their trail though, Akamaru started to whine again, making them stop again as he shivered again, though not as bad as before.

Again Hinata activated her doujutsu and relayed to her team that there were three people surrounding them.

"Well look what we have here. A dog lover, a quiet boy, and a... a Hyuuga. My, my, my. This must be my lucky day," a voice echoed around the area as the three took up a formation of being back to back. Each had a kunai drawn and were looking over the area in front of them carefully.

"Won't find us just by looking," another voice rang out and before anyone knew it, Kiba was on down on one knee, the leg that had crumpled being cut severely on his calf muscle.

"Kiba-kun," Hinata squeaked in surprise a she turned to help her teammate.

"Hn, never show the enemy you back Hyuuga," the third voice rang out and the whizzing of a kunai in the air could be heard. Shino was there however and blocked the kunai aimed at Hinata's back.

"I'm fine Hinata," Kiba stated as Hinata had knelt down to his help his wound, "We have more pressing matters than a stupid wound."

"Oh yes you do. After all, today would be a perfect day for the Cloud to get those pair of eyes they have been wanting so badly," the first voice rang out. It was filled with malicious glee that made the three gennin shiver.

"So you are from the hidden Cloud village?" Shino asked into the trees around them, trying to find something.

"Well, some one is perceptive. No matter. You three can't win against us as you are," the second voice rang out in a taunting manner.

"Hinata, can you sense them with your Byakugan?" Shino asked as he turned his head to the side a little to address her as she and Kiba retook their positions.

She activated it once more bout could only see a blur moving around all of them.

"T-They're running... They're running around us," she stammered, amazed at the speed the people were showing.

"Ah she has it pretty well. That will get us some big bucks," the first voice rang out.

In a flash though, three people stood around the three other gennin, and each had a sword drawn. They all wore black clothing from head to toe, and in the shade of the forest, the only thing that the three could easily see were the glints of the other shinobi's hitai-ate. The symbol of the Cloud village engraved on the shiny metal.

"Who would have though our luck in taking this exam. Two Hyuuga to take down to get those beautiful eyes from," the one Cloud ninja in front of Hinata said with a malicious tone radiating in his voice.

"You'll never get Hinata," Kiba growled as he gripped his kunai tighter. Akamaru also growled, having removed himself from Kiba's coat once they had stopped but staying close in case his master needed him.

"Oh my, and its the heiress too. This is truly our lucky day. The day we get to pay you back for getting out sensei killed you bitch," the one in front of Shino said, his voice sending shivers down all three of their spines.

Hinata however seemed to freeze up at the guys words. She had been told of the attempted kidnapping when she was younger and of the Cloud shinobi that had tried to get away with her. She knew the entire story behind it like the back of her hand. But what was worrying her now was the fact that these other gennin around her were the students of the man who had tried to nab her. The man had made it into the Hyuuga compound and grabbed her in the night without anyone noticing. The only reason she was saved was because her father had been returning from a meeting that had kept him late and he had felt the presence of the ninja and his new cargo.

Needless to say, she was not only scared that these people wanted her eyes, but they probably wanted revenge as well for the deceased sensei, as the tone in their words told her.

Her thoughts though were ripped from her mind as two started and pained yells from behind her caught her attention and she looked over her shoulder. Both Kiba and Shino now were sporting kunai in their arms and at least one in their leg.

"What the hell? They move like lightning. I couldn't even see them move," Kiba growled out as he tried to stay standing, all of the wounds he had received putting a strain on his body.

"Nor can my bugs land on them. They seemed to be charged with electricity too," Shino said, though just as strained as Kiba.

"W-What should we do?" Hinata asked in a very quiet but panicked voice.

She didn't get a response though for in the blink of an eye the man that had been in front of her a ways away was now holding her in the air by her jacket and had his sword ready for a killing strike.

"Now you die bitch," the man said venomously as he stared to bring in the sword for its death blow.

Hinata closed here eyes tight and waited for the blow come. But it never came. She waited and waited and still it never came. No burning sensation, no stinging, hell not even a little prick of pain registered in her mind at all as she still had her eyes closed.

Slowly she opened one eye after what seemed like an eternity. What she saw with that one eye made both of her eyes snap open in shock.

She was standing in the middle of a grassy plain. It went on for miles, far greater than she had ever seen, and the tall green grass came up to about her knees as she turned around in awe, trying to take in her landscape. As she she did, she noticed a small outcropping of trees that seemed to be some what misplaced and for what ever reason, her body just started to walk towards it while still looking around.

The area she was in was peaceful, that much she could surmise. The sky was blue around the entire area, wherever it was, and a gentle wind carried through the area as well, making her feel more at ease than she had ever felt in her entire life.

As she neared the trees though, she started to catch a faint smell of water on the air and it wasn't until she was about fifty feet away from the trees that she stopped to stare in awe and shock.

The awe was that there in front of her was a large pond, about ten feet away from her that stretched from that point all the way to the trees. It was a crystal blue and had small ripples in it from the gentle breeze that was flowing.

But her shock was at a creature that was curled in ball within the ten feet between her and the water. It was an animal, that much she was certain about, but she had no idea as to what type of animal it would be. Its fur was a dark blue in color and from the way it was curled into a ball, its tails were placed over its head covering it from view.

"_Since when did animals have two tails?"_ Hinata suddenly thought to herself as she did a double take at the two tails.

Her starring seemed to act like a poke with a stick though for after a little while, the creature started to stir. The tails moved first and curled around its head briefly before pulling back to sway this way and that lightly as an audible yawn could be heard. Hinata was took caught in awe of the two sawing tails though to even notice the two amber eyes that were now looking at her in confusion.

A simply cough brought Hinata's attention back to the creatures head and she squeaked as she took a couple involuntary steps back. She recognized the animal now for what it was as it had somewhere along the line stood up. It was easily as tall as she was if not a few inches taller but it was also slender, though at the same time powerful.

"_T-T-Ti...Ti..._" Hinata was stammering in her head as her body was quickly become frozen in shock. It became even more so as the creature in front of her spoke the word she had been trying to stammer in her head.

"Tiger," the creature said, a deep rumbling sound that was soft. Hinata squeaked again and paled at the simple word.

The tiger though simply sighed it rested back onto its stomach, though kept its head up to look at Hinata, who simply radiating fear. The tigers shoulders tightened then relaxed as it took a deep breath and released it.

"You have no need to fear me girl. I'm not going to eat you," the tiger said, the deep but soft voice booming out again.

"A-Ano... w-who... w-what... a-are y-y-you?" Hinata stammered, still terrified, if not more so now that the tiger was in front of her was actually talking.

The tiger seemed to look at her with quizzical and calculating eyes as if trying to asses something before a tail moved towards her, forcing her to take another step back and squeak again. Every bone in her body was telling her to run away from this creature but her muscles were refusing to even budge from her terrified state.

But as the tail was now in front of her, it lifted up the chain from around her neck and lifted the pendant to her eye level. Hinata's eyes focused on the pendant before realization struck her. The tiger on the pendant and the one before her were one and the same. Her eyes widened as she looked at the tiger again.

"See, not a threat," it said, the voice sounding highly amused at her switch from terrified to curiosity.

"Bu..But Naruto-kun.." she tried to say, remembering the boy who had given her the gift that was around her neck.

"Figured as much," the tiger said as it stood again and started to walk over to her. Its moves were graceful but at the same time Hinata could swear she could see the muscles rippling underneath the fur.

It stopped just in front of her and sat on its haunches as it starred into her still wide eyes as her mind tried to place everything together.

"He said to channel some chakra into the necklace and it would bring help," she said without stuttering, shocking at how the words had come out so easily. She didn't know why but now that the tiger was closer to her and was starring directly into her eyes with an obvious amusement, and not an intention of turning her into its neck snack, she just felt comfortable. Not to mention she couldn't help but feel calm now as well in the area, even with the tiger looking at her.

"And here I am. But I can already say, you and your friends are fine. Nothing bad has happened to you or them," the tiger said softly, the deep voice surprisingly soothing up close.

At her confused look the tiger chuckled lightly before saying, "We are more or less in your mind at the moment. When you subconscious called for help, it channeled chakra into that necklace of yours and your mind connected with it. Your conscious mind though thought it was going to die and just blanket out. The result of both is that you are now here within your own mind speaking to me."

Hinata's brow furrowed in confusion as she her mind took in and processed the words. She was somehow in her own mind that was connected with a necklace given to her by the boy of her dreams and somehow with all of that, this two tailed tiger was standing in front of her within her own mind.

It was then a question popped into her head.

"Who are you?"

"Help, like the loud mouth said. You should rest now though, you are going to need it," the tiger said and before Hinata could even ask what it was talking about a tail flicked out at her. The last thing she saw and felt though was that of the two tails suddenly wrapping around her gently as well as slight throb at the back of her neck where on had obviously hit her to knock her out.

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Sasuke was sitting peacefully on the branch he had claimed as his own. It was the second day of the exam already and he and his team had yet to find anyone that had reached the tower. Well, not from where they had looked anyways. Naruto had insisted they stay close to the entrance they had to enter and make that their base of operations. But at the same time, he didn't even let him or Sakura go off very far from there, which was starting to piss him off. His normally hyperactive teammate was paranoid, that much was certain.

He could easily tell from the way he was always looking around as if being stalked and from the tense air that seemed to surround him as well. He and Sakura had questioned him on it more than once since they had gotten to their position but he never answered. He actually never talked unless it was an order for them to stay close to their home point.

It irked him to no end that the blond dared to give him an order but at the same time, he always did what Naruto said for some reason. He wasn't sure if it was the tone he used or just how he said his words. But each time Sasuke got an order from Naruto his body followed while his mind screamed at him.

"_What the hell is wrong with him?"_ he thought as he was currently starring at the blond in question. He was about twenty feet away on another branch looking directly back at the way they had came to where they were in their mad dash.

His own eyes though then moved over to his other teammate who was about ten feet away from him but looking positively pissed and scared at the same time. He had to smirk at the reason why though.

An hour after they had set up the spot they were all sitting in now, Sakura had started to pester Naruto with questions. His only response was a direct command for her to 'Stay quiet until they were in the tower.'

Sakura had naturally gone ballistic at that point and had gotten one syllable of what had promised to be a long line of screeches out of her mouth before the scariest both himself and Sakura had ever seen was leveled on them.

Naruto's glare. But it wasn't just a normal glare that made them pale, it was his eyes. They had changed briefly and at the same time he had the air around him told them he was severely pissed off and not in the mood.

It made him shudder just thinking about what he had felt rolling off of Naruto in thick waves for those few seconds but more curious as to what the hell was going on. He hadn't got a decent enough glimpse at what had happened to Naruto's eyes, but ever since the incident five days ago, he knew the blond was hiding a lot of secrets from his team.

Which brought him back to thinking of why he the three of them were still hiding high in the trees surrounding the tower, waiting.

He slumped his shoulders a bit as he sighed before turning to face Naruto again.

Almost as if he knew he was looking at him Naruto's voice rang out, "What do you want teme?"

The initial shock of him asking him a question without him even starting the conversation wore off quickly as he turned his stare into a glare.

"Why haven't we tried to find another team yet that isn't within the half a mile border from this spot?" Sasuke asked, already feeling his anger rising.

"Playing it safe Sasuke," Naruto mumbled but the Uchiha heard it and his anger vanished to be replaced by confusion.

"_Safe? What the hell does he mean safe?" _Sasuke thought.

But as he was finishing the thought he saw Naruto tense considerably. That was definitely not a good sign. Naruto was already tense, and seeing him get more tense could only mean one thing, someone was close.

His answer came in something he didn't expect. A massive snake, who's body was easily as big as a house and also had three heads, came at a blinding speed at Naruto as the three heads snapped down at him. Two of them the blond had managed to miss entirely but the the third had managed to hit him with its maw, knocking him off balance for one of the other three heads to suddenly clamp down on him entirely before slithering off.

Both Sasuke and Sakura were standing on their branches now in complete and utter shock. One they had never seen a snake that big before in their lives, nor one with three heads. Two was that they had just watched their teammate get effortlessly get eat by said snake as it slithered away at a ridiculously fast rate.

Those two facts alone had them frozen in place with fear and shock evident on their face and in their bodies. It was so much they didn't even notice someone land on a branch about fifty feet away from them.

The person was obviously amused about something, as was told by the large grin plastered to his face, though the entire grin looked highly psychotic. He wore a simple white kimono with a purple sash wrapped around his waist that was tied in a large bow behind him.

"_Seems I got the desired effect,"_ the figure mused before it started to move towards a still very scared and fearful Sasuke and Sakura.

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Naruto was not a happy demon vessel. He was currently stuck inside the stomach of an overly large three headed snake and its insides were pressing against him with a great amount of force. That force was also keeping him from moving at all but at the same time forcing the air out his lungs. Yes, Naruto was a very pissed off demon container at the moment because he could move his hands either.

"_Great. Just great," Naruto screamed in his head annoyed to end._

"_**Hey calm down kit,**" a very familiar deep voice echoed in the back of his head._

_The simple sentence from the voice calmed Naruto considerably as his body relaxed._

"_**Much better. Now why aren't you out of this snake yet? Didn't you want to save that damn flesh bag from getting that damn mark?**" the voice of the Kyuubi asked in the back of his head._

"_Easy for you to say. I can't move my arms and have almost no oxygen left in my lungs," Naruto said in his head but still showing his ire at the situation he was in._

"_**And that has stopped you before how? I know i can't help you with my chakra but did that last fight do something to your brain or something and forgot about the moves you had?**"_

Naruto would have smacked his head for forgetting about something as simply as that and started to flare his chakra. It was a lot smaller than when he had with Sarutobi but that was because he had done exactly that with the old man and his reserves hadn't recovered yet. He knew that it would take at least a month for just his normal chakra to get back to the level he figured his younger body could hold and he had no idea how long it would take Kyuubi to get back his ridiculous amount of chakra.

The reaction from the flare was almost instant though as the muscles loosened considerably. Naruto managed to unclench his right hand from the fist it had gotten stuck in while trying to dodge the snakes and smirk as he started to focus his chakra. He felt his nails get longer and sharper and only after a few brief moments, they were the way he wanted them.

With as much force as he could manage from this angle he drove his claws into the muscles that were still surrounding his hand. The tore through the unprepared muscles like tissue paper and instantly they started to retract away, giving Naruto even more room to maneuver. In a blur of movements though his other hand had grown claws as well in a blinding fury had clawed his way out of the snake.

Now, he was standing outside the very dead snake in front of him, breathing heavily and covered in a purplish liquid.

"Damn snake," Naruto growled and at the last syllable, the snake vanished in a puff of smoke.

Naruto could only smirk at this through his mask though the second he did, he immediately tore his mask of and started to spit out the liquid that had been attached to it and seeped into his mouth.

This happened for nearly thirty seconds before he had rid his mouth of the foul tasting liquid.

But as he was thinking about how disgusting it was to taste snake stomach fluids and snake blood at the same time, a massive influx of chakra snapped him back to reality as his head snapped back to where it had come from.

"Oh shit," Naruto said in a panic before making a beeline for where he had sense the influx.

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Sakura was currently frozen in fright. After having watched Naruto suddenly get eaten by the enormous snake, a strange ninja had appeared out of no where and was spouting things at Sasuke that made no sense to her what so ever.

The two had ended up fighting, in at which point the ninja had summoned another large snake that had chased after a quickly retreating Sasuke. She had followed, not knowing how her body was moving but when she got closer to the fight, the man, whose moves now were resembling that of a snakes, had turned the snake on her.

Sasuke lost it at that point and had gone all out on the man. He seemed to be winning, especially when he had tied the man down to a tree using his Sharingan controlled shurikens and had unleashed a powerful fire jutsu that had traveled along the wires that held the man.

But to her and Sasuke's horror, the man had just peeled of his face, revealing a somewhat more feminine face, though his eyes were now more snakelike. It was at that point he had made a blur of hand seals before stopping on one she had never seen and his neck had extended to where it was now clamped down on Sasuke's neck.

Quickly the neck retreated and a mark appeared on Sasuke's neck as he collapsed to the ground holding his neck as pain was coursing through his body.

"What did you do to Sasuke-kun?" Sakura screamed, not even bothering to wonder where she had suddenly gained her resolve back.

The man simply laughed a sadistic laughed as he grinned at her manically.

"Don't worry, it was only a gift. If he survives... Sasuke-kun will seek me out. He will seek me out for power," the snake man said as his body dissolved into the branch he was standing on.

The second he vanished though, Sasuke started to scream as he tightened his grip on his shoulder. Sakura ran up to him as his body started to shake and after only a few moments his body went limp as he passed out into Sakura's arms.

"Sasuke, wake up Sasuke? Sasuke, wake up!" Sakura screamed in a panicked state as she shook the unconscious boy in her arms. She continued to shake him for a a few minutes, though to her it seemed like hours, but Sasuke wouldn't even twitch.

When she finally gave up on shaking him though, her body and mind seemed to shut down. She was cradling the Uchiha in her lap now, holding his head to her chest as she rester head against his, but she was crying her heart out.

To her, both of her teammates were now gone and all because she couldn't do anything to help them. So worked up in her emotions she failed to notice the two people in black cloaks with red clouds suddenly appear before her and Sasuke.

"It seems he as already marked him," the taller male said with a somewhat angry but still somewhat amused tone.

"So it would seem," the smaller man said, though his tone was obviously much more pissed off at the moment.

"So what should we do with him then?" the other man asked.

"Knock the girl out and we will bring the both of them to the to..." the smaller man had said but was abruptly cut off as a very powerful surge of chakra was heading their way.

"Wow, someone is more pissed off than you are," the tall man said again as he looked over to his somewhat smaller companion. The man was shaking visibly which unnerved the tall man somewhat.

"Knock the girl out and leave the message," the shorter man said suddenly, his voice quivering somewhat, though the taller man could not figure out why.

"And what of him?" the taller man asked, motioning to the still unconscious Sasuke in the still crying and oblivious Sakura's arms.

"Leave him. We'll make sure to take care of this matter later," the shorter man said hastily again and the tall man only shrugged before he disappeared from sight for a brief moment. When he reappeared back at the shorter mans side, Sakura was now knocked out over the still unconscious Sasuke but there were two scrolls next to them.

"We leave," the small man said and without another sound, they blinked out of existence.

Not two seconds later though, a very pissed off Naruto came bursting through the tree tops and landed hard on the ground where the two people had been a few seconds before.

"Damn it, where did they go?" Naruto seethed out as he looked around. In but a moment his eyes came upon the unconscious Sasuke and Sakura and the two scrolls in between himself and them.

"_GOD DAMNIT!"_ Naruto screamed in his head when he realized what must have happened and rushed over to the two. He checked both of their necks finding nothing on Sakura but the mark the snake man had left on Sasuke.

"God damn that snake bastard. I swear I am going to rip him limb from limb when I get my hands on him," Naruto growled out as he double checked over his two teammates to make sure weren't any other injuries other than the mark on Sasuke.

The only other visible mark was a bruise on the back of Sakura's neck that made Naruto furrow his brows in confusion when he saw it.

His attention, once he had managed to place the two other gennin in a more comfortable lying down position, came upon the two scrolls. This caused his brow to furrow more though the two scrolls were the heaven and earth scrolls they needed to pass the exam.

"_What's going on?"_ Naruto thought as he moved over to the scrolls and picked them up gingerly, as if they were a trap or trick. When he found nothing visibly wrong with them however, he noticed that there was a note that was attached to the earth scroll, making Naruto more curious but at the same time more suspicious.

Again, he gingerly lifted the scroll and gently detached the note before he looked at it. It was simple though somewhat elegant handwriting in the form of just a note.

_Destroy the ring and break the illusion._

_Trust those of the spirits._

_We will take care of the brooding one._

Naruto's brow furrowed even more when he read the message as he tried to think of what the note said. A lot of things were playing out differently than he remembered and this was one of those things. His mind almost immediately got who the _brooding one_ was. Hell he had called him that more than once on his own. It was Sasuke, and by the take care of he wasn't sure if who ever left this message meant to kill him or if it was to remove the curse seal that now resided on his neck.

He put those thoughts aside however as he stowed the two scrolls away in his pouch and pocketed the note before looking back over to his two teammates.

A few memories flashed before his eyes as he looked at them and his expression changed to one of sadness as he looked at them.

"I won't let you leave this time teme," he said softly as he walked over to the two and gently lifted them both onto his shoulders before making his way towards the tower as fast as he could go with his new cargo.

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"Ugh," Hinata moaned as she started to open her eyes. She was met with a bright light that blurred her vision but she quickly blinked it away as she sat up from where she was lying down.

When she looked around though she noticed she was in a room somewhere. It was a plain simple room with an overhead light, the simple bed she was now sitting on, and a table with two chairs a little bit away from the bed. There was now windows and only one door that was on the opposite side of the bed that the table was on.

Currently though, both of her teammates were sitting in the two chairs at the table with their heads resting in their arms and a curled up Akamaru sleeping in between the two.

She starred intently at the white puppy as she felt something in her chest stir for a moment before dieing down.

However, Akamaru seemed to sense what ever presence had stirred within her and his woke up. He mouth opened in a yawn as he lifted to his paws and stretched before looking at her. Hinata didn't know why but she literally felt as if the eyes of her teammates pet was judging her.

The feeling passed though as the small puppy started to pant and yip at her in a happy tone. The noise instantly woke up both Shino and Kiba as their bodies snapped up with kunai drawn and starring at Hinata. The movement caused the poor girl to squeak in surprise and move back on instinct only to fall off the side of the bed and land on her back, dazing her.

Both Kiba and Shino lowered their kunai as the effects of sleep started to wear off and their battle ready expressions turned to that of worry then amusement as they now could only see Hinata's feet poking up from the side of the small bed.

Kiba was the only one to visible chuckle as he and Shino stowed their kunai away, the latter of which immediately putting his hands into the pockets of his coat as they made their way around the bed.

This sight on the other side was just as amusing as Hinata's mouth was open slightly, a dazed look in her eyes and her head rolling a bit from side to side as he legs twitched.

After a few brief moments of chuckling, Kiba squatted down next to her and gently slapped her face a few times to get her to focus back on the real world.

"You alright Hinata?" Kiba asked as the pale eyed girl shook her head to regain her bearings before right her body so that she was sitting on the floor with her back against the bed.

"Yes, I'm fine Kiba-kun," she said as she took in a breath and closed her eyes. The action however forced her to miss the stunned reactions of both her teammates

"Hinata-san, are sure you are feeling alright?" Shino asked as he too squatted down next to Hinata except this time placed a hand over her forehead.

The warm hand now to her forehead made her open her eyes in confusion to see a thunderstruck Kiba still starring at her in shock and, for what she could see of his face, a concerned Shino.

"Yes, Shino-kun, why do you ask?"

"You aren't stuttering," Kiba whispered out, still looking at her in shock.

Hinata's brows furrowed in somewhat annoyance at the comment before realization hit her. She _wasn't _stuttering at all. Her face quickly contorted to that of shock as well as a blush graced her face as she leaned her head down to try and hide the bottom part of her face behind the forehead protector around her neck.

"G-Gomen," she muttered from behind her hitai-ate before her head snapped back up to look at her teammates.

"Where are we?" she asked in a bit of a panic.

"At the tower. We've been here for the past two days. Today is the final day of the second part of the exam," Shino said as he stood back up with Kiba as they both helped Hinata to her feet.

"W-What happened?" Hinata asked, not knowing why her stutter was starting to return.

"Well, once that Cloud asshole grabbed you..."

**FLASHBACK**

"_Now you die bitch," the man said venomously as he stared to bring in the sword for its death blow._

"_HINATA!" Kiba and Shino screamed as he whirled around and moved to try and intercept the killing strike._

_But before their eyes a red glow struck the mans back he stopped mid swing. Slowly his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he dropped both the sword and a now unconscious Hinata._

"_What the hell?" one of the other men cried out at seeing their teammate suddenly go down from some red light._

"_You know, you shouldn't play with sharp objects. You might cut yourself," a new voice rang out from the woods. It was deep and mysterious but for Kiba and Shino, it was oddly calming._

"_Who the hell is there?" one of the men shouted as they suddenly formed up back to back with their swords ready as their eyes scanned the surrounding area. They had completely forgotten about their initial fight with the leaf gennin but the same was for them as both groups were now curious as to whose voice was speaking._

"_Our names are of no consequence, but for you, we can say this, prepare yourselves," another voice rang out from the area. This one was smother though, and at the same time had a rather regal tone to it, even though it did sound amused by something._

"_Come out and fight you cowards!" one of the men screamed, but it was the last thing he would ever say in his life._

_Both Kiba and Shino blinked once while looking at the two remaining Cloud shinobi but when their eyes opened from the blink, there were now two more people standing right in front of the other two._

_Both wore black cloaks of the same make and design but their were designs on the back of them that set the two apart. One had an intricate red and gold dragon while the other had a blue bird with emerald markings in its feathers._

_Each person however had their own weapon that was now currently embedded into the hearts of the two now very shocked looking but very dead Cloud shinobi._

_The dragon cloaked man had an impossibly long katana, it easily having about a seven foot long blade with an additional two foot handle.(A/N Think Sephiroth's sword.) The bird cloaked man had a katana similar to the other mans but his was around the normal length that a katana was. However, around the blade green energy crackled like lightning giving it an eerie green glow to the blade itself._

_Both men ripped their swords from the other shinobi, spraying a bit of blood on the ground as the two fell over dead._

_Both Kiba and Shino were now very afraid of these two people who had just killed people who they couldn't even touch a few seconds ago. They both took a step back in fear when the two cloaked men turned to them._

"_No need to be frightened. We aren't gonna hurt you guys," a soft and feminine voice suddenly said between the two's head as they were watching the two other men intently._

_They both let out an undignified shriek as they jumped away, both of their faces going pale as they looked at the new comer. It was a woman dressed similarly to the two men except she had a white bird with gold markings on her back._

_But when they say that the unconscious Hinata was also in this womans arms, their resolve came back a hundred fold._

"_Let her go," Kiba growled out fiercely as he took out a kunai and prepared to charge. Across from him he could actually hear the angry buzzing of Shino's bugs as he too took out a kunai and readied himself to attack the woman._

"_We aren't here to attack you three. We merely came to help you," the deep calming voice said, drawing the two boys to look at the bird cloaked man._

"_And how do we know that?" Kiba growled, Akamaru also joining him as they were tensing more and more for a fight._

"_Because we could have easily killed you, grabbed the scrolls, and left all three of you here to rot with these scumbags," the dragon man said as he wiped of his sword on one of the dead shinobi's clothes before kicking it in disgust._

_The statement, for thats what it simply was, floored both Shino and Kiba as they flinched at how easily the man had said it. He wasn't even looking at them when he had made the declaration but at the same time they started to relax a bit._

"_Why do you want to help us?" Shino asked as he lowered his kunai but kept a ready stance, his bugs though still buzzing in anticipation._

"_That's for us to know and you to find out later. Anyways, we aren't here to get your scrolls either," the bird man said as he too wiped his sword off then proceed to search the guys pouch. A few seconds latter he pulled out an earth scroll as well as what looked to be a roll of exploding tags and a pouch a money._

"_To the victor goes the spoils," he said as he tucked the stuff into a pocket on his cloak the gennin couldn't even see._

"_So how do we know we can trust you?" Kiba asked as Akamaru jumped up to his favorite spot of being atop Kiba's head._

"_You don't," the woman stated, the softness taking a rather harsh tone, "but this girl needs rest. Something has happened to her and she will probably be out for a while. So, if you think you can trust us, we can make a small alliance for the time be and get to the tower where this girl can be looked at and get some rest."_

_It was then that Naruto's words rang in Kiba's ears. They brought a surprisingly calm attitude to him as he relaxed. These three were right, they could have killed all of them at any moment and if he and Shino decided to attack, the woman holding Hinata in her arms could easily kill her before they even reached her._

"_Fine. We'll go to the tower," Kiba stated as he looked over to Shino. The bug user had likewise calmed down and they both stowed their kunai away._

**END FLASHBACK**

"... then we followed them here. When we got here the medic nins healed our wounds and checked you out before they said you just were just unconscious. So we were given a room in this tower and you have been asleep until today," Kiba finished.

"I-I w-was out for f-four days?" Hinata asked in a weak voice as her already pale face got a bit paler.

Shino simply nodded and she started to feel herself get lightheaded as she tried to process all that her team had told her as well as that odd visit with the two tailed tiger.

Her thoughts were interrupted though as the door to the room suddenly opened and their sensei Kurenai walked in.

"Ah, I see you are awake now Hinata. How are you feeling?" Kurenai asked with a warm smile at the small Hyuuga.

"F-Fine Kurenai-sensei," Hinata muttered as she tried to hide her face behind her forehead protector again. Kurenai only smiled more before she addressed her team.

"All the teams that passed are assembling down in the main hall of this tower. Come with me," she said to them before turning around and started to walk out of the room.

The three gennin quickly followed her out of the room, Hinata falling into step directly behind her and Shino and Kiba flanking her, both of which were looking at Hinata with somewhat confused looks.

"A-Ano, sensei.." Hinata called out as they walked.

"Yes Hinata?" Kurenai asked as she tilted her head to the side to look over her shoulder at Hinata.

"D-Do you know if... if Naruto-kun..."

"...passed as well. Yes, he and his team arrived just a few minutes before the timer was up," Kurenai said, interrupting the poor girl but at the same time giving her a soft smile.

Hinata couldn't help but smile at the response, even if her question had been cut off. She smiled happily as her hand moved to hold onto the necklace that still adorned her neck.

"_Naruto-kun passed too,"_ Hinata thought ecstatic as she thought of the person she admired.

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A/N: Well there is the third chapter. Hope you like it. Sorry that i skipped the battle scenes and what not but some I just don't want to have to right. They would drive me nuts but hopefully this works for now. I should have some battle scenes though in the next chapter so enjoy until till then .


	5. Preliminaries

A/N: First off, sorry for how long it took to get this chapter out. I was kinda suffering from several bouts of writers block while writing it, plus moving out of my apartment didn't help to much either :-/.

Secondly, this chapter is a bit long. I was gonna split it up but figured better not since I had a lot of ideas. However, for the fight scenes and what not in this I apologize if people find them... disappointing. It was one of the spots I've had the worst case of writers block but hopefully it will slate peoples thirst for a decent battle scene. Along the same lines, I apologize ahead of time if I get some of the names wrong for the moves used as well as descriptions. I'm somewhat going on memory alone for what they are and how they are spelled and from what I remember there is a lot of damn moves used throughout the series... so its kinda hard to remember them all...

Anyways, on to the third thing, and that is dealing with the Biju. I know a lot of people have done all the research stuff and what not of who and what the Biju are and who they are sealed into and what not. However, for this story I have my own idea on who and what Biju are sealed into as well as what Biju there are. Most of this is basically because I haven't read any of the manga and only watched up to episode 190, so I don't know more of the future outcome stuff that happens.

And with that said, I hope you enjoy the story still though. I felt like giving you guys a bit of a heads up. I still like reviews though, all good and bad. All reviews are always welcomed and all flames, though somewhat disliked, are taken as well. So, as they say in show business, on with the show. . Hope you enjoy the latest chapter of The Heavens Curse.

The Heavens Curse

Chapter 4: Preliminaries

"_Ugh... where... where am I?"_ Sasuke thought as his mind started to come back into consciousness. He became acutely aware that his body was standing on its own two legs but at the same time he was being supported a little.

His eyes were barely opened and at the moment all he cold see was the back of a black shirt with a dark orange stripe going down the back with four stripes going out on either side as if it were a tiger. His mind immediately focused on the shirt as well as the recent memory of who had been wearing a shirt like that.

"_Na... Naruto..."_ he thought as his eyes opened wide to stare at the blond's back. However, as his eyes opened more he noticed they were surrounded by people and were in some sort of room.

In front of all of the people around him and his team he could see the Jounin instructors of more than likely each gennin team, for he figured thats who where around him, that had passed the second part of the exam.

"_What the... How did I get here?"_ Sasuke thought, but then a sudden pulse of pain from his neck caused his body to stiffen as well become aware again of the person who was helping him stay standing.

"Sasuke-kun... are you alright?" the person asked. Their voice was feminine and Sasuke realized it was Sakura who was helping him.

"Yea... just a little sore..." Sasuke said as he slid his right hand up to the left side of his neck where the pain had come from. The skin there was hot but as he held his hand there, the memories of the dream he had had while unconscious came flying back to him. It was of the night his clan was slaughtered and the voice of his brother echoed in his head.

"You okay there Sasuke?" Naruto asked as he turned around slightly to look at the Uchiha with one eye.

For some reason that sparked some nerve in Sasuke and he felt himself get aggravated by the blond's question.

"I'm fine dobe," he growled while he Sakura off of helping him up and standing as tall as he could on his own with his one hand still covering the mark on his neck.

"No you are not Sasuke. Who ever that guy was that bit you left something on your neck that isn't normal and it's messing with your chakra," Naruto said as he turned around fully, completely ignoring the happenings going on on behind him between the assembled Jounin.

"H-He's right Sasuke-kun... maybe we should... should quit this exam and tell Kakashi-sensei about that mark," Sakura said, her voice shaky with worry and concern.

"No," Sasuke growled as he rounded on Sakura and grabbed her arm which had been slowly raising, "I am an Avenger Sakura. This exam may not matter to me but there are strong people here. People that I need to fight in order to see how strong I have become."

It was silent again as Sasuke starred intently at a shocked but still concerned Sakura. However, so focused were they on each other that they missed when Kabuto had suddenly given up and had started to walk out of the building. They did not miss however the very audible growl that came out of Naruto as he watched Kabuto leave, but Sasuke mistook it for a growl at him for what he said.

The undignified snort of Naruto made Sasuke turn his head to glare at him with a smirk before saying, "I want to fight you too Naruto."

Naruto leveled a glare on the smirking Uchiha that made the boy flinch slightly but held his resolve against Naruto. After a few seconds Naruto just closed his eyes and turned around with a snort as a Jounin had finished explaining that the gennin would have to go through preliminaries before they could compete in the final part of the exam.

"We will now begin the cough first match of the preliminaries. Please pay attention to board cough for your pairings," Hayate, the Jounin who had arrived to proctor the preliminary matches said and motion to the large display board behind the carve hands in the ram seal.

Naruto paid the board no head though as he looked to his right at the teams to the right of the Gaara's team. Both were cloaked, though only one team had their hoods up to hide their faces in the shadows the hoods provided. The other team was one from the Hidden Village of the Stone and all three grizzly men looked to be very grouchy about having to fight again right after having to deal with the Forest of Death.

"_Who are those guys? There wasn't anyone else before..."_ Naruto thought to himself as he heard the name of Sasuke and his opponent.

The blond didn't say anything to his now smug teammate at having to go first and barely heard Hayate order all of the gennin to move to the balcony to watch the fight. He moved swiftly to the balcony, keeping an eye on the two cloaked teams.

The team however moved to the opposite side of the arena from where he had chosen as well as the Sound gennin team and the Stone shinobi. His stare from his spot though was torn when a felt a tap on his shoulder and turned his head to see who had tapped him on his shoulder.

With a smirk he realized who it was.

"Sabaku no Gaara, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Naruto asked while he looked into the eyes of a confused but still glaring Gaara.

"I have been... informed, of particular events that... occurred these past few days. Why?" Gaara asked, never tearing his gaze away from Naruto's.

"I have my reasons Gaara. Besides, I thought you would like to be able to sleep at night," Naruto said with another smirk as Gaara's brow furrowed slightly as his glare disappeared. Naruto however turned back to observe the three fully cloaked shinobi with the designs on their back.

"He... He has also told what happened to all of us," Gaara said though this time with his head lowered and barely above a whisper.

Naruto instantly froze at Gaara's words as a memory came flooding back into his memory.

**FLASHBACK**

"_Why? Why are you doing this Naruto?" a panting Gaara screamed out in front Naruto._

_His clothes were torn and covered in blood and he was trying desperately to stop the blood flowing out of where his right arm used to be. Behind him was a battered and beaten Neji who was coughing up a large amount of blood as he was on his hands and knees. Next to him was the body of an old Rock Lee, though he was not moving for there was a distinct hole in his chest where his heart should be._

_Behind them though were Shikamaru and Chouji, supporting each other on each others shoulders, both bruised and bloody with several large open wounds pouring blood from various parts of their torso's._

_And further behind them was a half destroyed Konoha, the half that was destroyed laying in ruins and burning with an eerie red glow._

_Naruto, however, could not be seen by the people in front of him clearly. Their was an eerie red glow all around him that blocked out how he looked or what he was dressed in. The only way to tell he was even there at all and not some shadow was by the fiercely glowing red eyes that starred back at them with an unbidden fury._

_He did not answer the question though and in the blink of eye he moved, the sounds of people screaming in pain and dieing following soon after filled the air over what was left of Konoha, scarring its inhabitants even more than they already were._

**END FLASHBACK**

Shakily, Naruto turned his head back to where Gaara was standing only to find the sand user had left and was now standing back with his team. Both Temari and Kankuro were looking at their younger brother with obvious fright but at the same time, Naruto saw a sense of longing on both of their faces as they glanced at each other then back to Gaara without saying anything.

"ShiShi Rendan!" was shouted to Naruto's right and his attention was snapped down to the arena floor where Sasuke was sitting on the ground with his opponent unconscious about ten feet from him.

He was quickly pronounced winner of the first match and a moment later Kakashi appeared behind him with his knee gently on his back as his body started to sway from exhaustion. He muttered something before turning his head to look at a scowling Naruto and a worried Sakura.

"I'm going to take Sasuke to get looked at. You guys be good and good luck with your matches," Kakashi called out to the two before he vanished in a puff of smoke with Sasuke.

Sakura was scared now. She had watched the entire fight with Sasuke and had noticed right before the end that the mark on his neck had glowed before markings started to form all over his body. They disappeared just as quickly however for some reason right before Sasuke performed his final move on his opponent and she truly wanted to make sure her teammate and crush where okay.

She nearly jumped out of her skin though when she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned quickly to find Naruto looking at her, his mask off an giving her a large fox like grin.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan, Sasuke will be fine," Naruto said in what he hopped was a calming voice as he closed his eyes and grinned wider. _"Plus I hope you don't realize this grin is fake too,"_ he thought to himself as an afterthought.

When he felt Sakura's shoulder relax under his touch, he open his eyes to see her starring at him in a bit of wonder but with a small smile on her face now as well. She nodded to him once before turning back to see who the next match was. And when the names were called, Naruto immediately focused on the next match as well.

"Katsuhito of the Hidden Spirits and Yuri of the Hidden Stone, please come down to arena," Hayate announced once the board had done its work.

Both cloaked men walked slowly down to the arena and took up positions on either side of Hayate though a good distance away from each other.

"_Hidden Spirits? I don't remember there ever being a Hidden Spirit Village," _Naruto thought confused in his head as he noticed the man with the red and gold dragon on his cloak stand with his back to Naruto's side of the arena.

"**_Something is amiss kit. I sense that someone here, or several people are in the same way you are,"_** Kyuubi's voice suddenly said in the back of his own mind shocking him a bit at first before he contemplated what the fox was telling him.

"_Glad to see your are at least back to a somewhat more sustaining chakra level. And what do you mean same as me? How the hell could they have done something that took all nine of you to do what you did for me?" _Naruto asked as the two fighters below took up stances completely different from each other.

"_**There just is Naruto. I can't tell what it is since I'm still not fully healed. I still need my rest kit and be careful. If they are like you, you never know what could happen,"**_Kyuubi's voice rang in the back of his head. He nodded slightly to himself, making sure to make as little movement as possible.

The stone nin was very large, and extremely well toned. That much was easily said from the cloak around him. The other cloaked figure though was a lot more lanky than the stone nin. He was more than likely not as thin as the cloak mislead to believe as he was a shinobi if this exam had anything to say about it. Not to mention when he stood up fully and turned to face the ring before jumping off, Naruto noticed the grace of the movements that only come with some sort of experience.

"_Who the hell is this guy and why are things not going like they should?"_ Naruto seethed in his head. He was already agitated to no end by the fact that Sasuke had still received the curse mark from Orochimaru, and now these two new teams that had somehow appeared that weren't here to begin with. Not to mention he had to restrain himself from all assaulting the snake of a man when he has seen the Sound Jounin appear behind his team, or when he disappeared in a puff of smoke shortly after Kakashi took Sasuke away.

"The second round, Katsuhito vs. Yuri, HAJIME!" Hayate cried out as he sliced his hand through the air and jumped back a bit to give the two fighters room.

"Well, well, well. Looks like I got a lucky draw of everyone here. I get to fight a small little twerp like you," Yuri stated boldly as he fell into a readied stance.

"I believe I would say something similar if my brain were as thick as the armor that I wore," Katsuhito stated as he just crossed his arms in front of his stance and the head part of the cloak manned looked to just glare at the larger man in front of him.

The larger man just seemed to get pissed at this and everyone could visibly see him shaking with rage. Somehow, the cloaked spirit nin had hit a nerve with his comment.

"That guy needs to calm his ass down," Kiba muttered to the right of Naruto drawing the blonds attention to him. What he saw though made him even more curious.

Akamaru was trembling again in his coat, which alone made Naruto's brow furrow in confusion but even Kiba looked terrified of the men in the ring, or at least one of them.

"Who needs to calm down?" Naruto asked, though he figured he might be meaning the Stone nin.

Kiba turned his head slightly to look at Naruto and with a bit of a grimace said, "That Stone nin is outclassed. Just watch and you'll see why."

If Naruto's head had turned any faster, Kiba could have sworn that he had snapped his neck. But when the blond didn't suddenly die he merely turned his attention back to the fight as well with a grimace and watched.

To Kiba's right though was a blushing Hinata, who also had her eyes on the fight that was too come but her mind was elsewhere as she had a desperate clutch onto the tiger necklace her love had given her.

"_Naruto-kun... I hope you pass here too..." _ she said in her head as she decided to turn her attention back to the two fighters.

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The large stone nin had calmed down some when Katsuhito had not taken a stance yet. Instead, he stood there with his arms crossed in front of his chest in an very relaxed pose and kept the opening of his hood pointed directly at the Stone nin.

"Well, shall we get this fight started then," the Stone nin growled out in amusement seeing as the other guy wasn't moving or saying something again.

With no response, the nin charged forward at a rate that betrayed his size and swung his fist straight at Katsuhito's head and down. To his shock, his fist went straight through the man and he stumbled as his body soon passed through the man as well before tripping and falling on his face.

"My, my, my. Such a hasty little boy aren't we. You should really learn to control those emotions of your's. They will do nothing but get you in trouble," Katsuhito's voice sounded from where Yuri had just past through.

He pushed himself up and over his hands in an odd display of acrobatics to flip over in mid air to face Katsuhito's back side. For what was thought to be an illusion was still there after being passed through, but no one else could see anything.

"You caught me off guard twerp. It won't happen again," Yuri calmly stated but before he could even move again, he felt a sharp pain his stomach before an unknown force sent him flying back into the wall with a heavy slam.

The impact hurt, the much could be derived from the sound the Stone nin made when he impacted the stone wall. However, the distinct sound of metal also echoed from the impact and everyone save the other two stone nin were looking at Yuri now with curious expressions.

The stone nin just shrugged his shoulders as he stood from his position against the wall and looked back to where he had been standing. Now standing where he had been a few moments ago was Katsuhito, elbow still extended in its strike with the man still holding onto his hand as he watch Yuri stand up.

"You were saying?"

"You should count yourself lucky kid. I'm going to enjoy this fight now," Yuri said with a grin that had Naruto and many other questioning this guys sanity.

But even with that grin, they were all suddenly floored when he moved his hand up and ripped off his cloak and tossed it aside. Underneath the cloak was what everyone was now gawking at. The man was dressed in Samurai attire though it was all dark black with a few gold trimmings here and there along his pants legs. But what was most noticeable was the rather large broadsword on his back. With his large hands he reached up and grabbed the hilt of the sword and lifted it off his back so that he could now hold it out in one hand pointed at the still elbow out Katsuhito.

"So you bring toys to a match, how playful. Well two can play at that game," Katsuhito's voice echoed from his spot in an amused tone before he stood back up to his first pose of his arms crossed.

In a few seconds however he just simply just pointed his right hand out at the man, his open palm facing him with only two fingers up.

"Two strikes. That's all you get," he said, he voice suddenly changing into a deadly whisper.

Yuri thought nothing of the change in voice though and in a blindingly fast movement he was in front of Katsuhito and brought a strike down intent on cleaving him in half. To his horror and and the others shock, the man simply side stepped as the large sword slammed down and embedded itself in the rock floor.

"Strike one."

This only served to piss of Yuri and with impossible strength he ripped the sword in a diagonal arch up towards Katsuhito with just as much speed as his first attack had had. He could only blink in confusion though as Katsuhito had just vanished before his waking eyes like he wasn't even there and he lost his grip on his sword sending it flying back over his shoulder and slammed into the wall next to a tired, though now very awake, Shikamaru, who just looked at the large blade in horror as it vibrated from its sudden stop.

"Strike two. You're out," Katsuhito's voice echoed throughout the room making many people look around trying to find the source of the voice. Even the Hokage because they could not sense his presence anywhere.

Their attention was brought back to the ring though when the stone nin's sudden scream filled their ears. And what they saw made several or more of the gennin go pale while most of the older ninja just looked on in horror at what the saw.

Yuri was on his knees his arms tucked under his armpits, both oozing with blood but right in front of him where both of his hands, laying on the floor, severed away from his arms at the wrist.

"And this match is over," Katsuhito voice said and without waiting for Hayate to pronounce him the winner he simply reappeared back up to the other two ninja from the Hidden Spirits village Though this time, he had a sheathed katana resting against his shoulder. The fact that he had one didn't surprise most people. The fact that did was that the point of the sword was touching the ground, and the other end of it was at least a good two feet above Katsuhito's head, showing that the sword was a about nine feet long.

The rest of the assembled shinobi were openly gawking at the dragon cloaked man, both confused and horror stricken. Somehow, the man had managed to disappear from everyone's senses and then while they were distracted looking for him, he had quite simply rendered a fellow shinobi's career almost useless.

If it had not been for the medic team that arrived in the ring a flurry of movement, Yuri would have likely bleed to death right there on the floor and his hands, which had been carefully grabbed by a medic nin, were carted off with him as well to try and get them sewn back on in an attempted to give the man a somewhat normal life.

"_Who are these shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Spirits?" _was the question that plagued everyone's minds as the next names were called.

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"_WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!" _ Naruto screamed in his head in rage as he leveled a very intense glare at the cloaked shinobi from Kamigakure.

The entire fight, something was amiss to him and he couldn't figure it out. He knew he was fast, but there was no way in the world someone could have completely vanished and moved like the way the Katsuhito character had.

It left no traces of chakra in the air and the fact that it was soundless as well as immediate was very disturbing. Waves of memories assaulted Naruto's mind as he thought about the possibility of what these three new shinobi, who had no Jounin sensei standing there watching them, though he knew there was one somewhere in this village, could possibly be. Enemy, ally, or something or something completely different.

Everything was mulling about in Naruto's head so much he missed the next announcement of the match as he stared hard at the cloaked shinobi. So wrapped up was he that he almost missed the sense of something coming to hit him in the face.

His head twitched to the side out of reflex making the kunai whiz past his head and embed itself into the wall behind him. A growl escaped his lips as he looked from the kunai to the direction it had come from and saw a smug looking Kiba standing in the arena with his arm still stretched out.

"You gonna fight me or drop out like you did at the academy?" Kiba asked with an arrogant smirk, his dog Akamaru yapping once in agreement though looking somewhat distraught at the moment.

Naruto just growled as he jumped from the ledge he was at with the other teams and into the ring where he landed with a heavy thud in a crouched position.

However as he stood up and grinned at Kiba, he noticed a shift in the presences within the arena and looked up to where the cloaked people from Kamigakure where standing and starring at him intently.

The people behind them though, set Naruto off like tossing a pound of magnesium in water. The straw hats, the black cloaks with red clouds, and the overwhelming power that was being tightly compressed to that of what would be considered a normal ninja.

Naruto's eyes narrowed considerably as his mind started to race with more questions which answers lead to more questions that quickly made him very disinterested in the fight he was supposed to be doing at the moment.

He was so distracted that when Hayate told them to begin he completely missed Kiba rushing him and slamming a fist into his chest that sent him stumbling backwards onto his ass.

"I'm surprised you've managed to stay alive this long if you don't keep your eyes on the match and not off on some other team," Kiba growled, more than annoyed that Naruto had been ignoring him and his jibes at him.

When he looked back at Naruto though, he noticed something had suddenly changed about the person he had come to know as dead last in the academy. His stance had changed as he stood up, now seeming more focused and ready for battle than the aggravated one he had just a moment ago. Not to mention now his his body was telling him to run while his mind was saying fight while his head is down.

It was Naruto's voice though when he spoke that his mind suddenly snapped shut and everyone in the entire arena seemed to focus on him.

"I shouldn't be alive Kiba," the voice was ragged and deep, but held and overwhelming sense of sadness in it that everyone in the room could hear. But at the same time the words were laced with untold power that made everyone even more curious.

As Naruto lifted his head to look Kiba in the eyes, Kiba's mind suddenly started to scream at him to do what his body had been yelling at him to do the second Naruto had started to stand from being knocked over.

Everything locked and froze though as Naruto's stance changed once again. This time though, he had no idea what happened. His body simply froze as an overwhelming amount of fear entered his thoughts while his heart rate nearly tripled.

But what had made his mind stop working were Naruto's eyes. They had changed from the amazing electric blue that he was known for to an eerie blood red. Not only that though, his pupils had changed into something he had **_never_** even seen or heard of in his entire, though small, life.

The main part of the pupil had changed into what looked like a three pointed black shuriken. One point was pointing straight up, the other two down with one more to the left and the other more to the right. Yet at the ends of these points where things that made Kiba very curious but at the same time very scared. At the top point there was another three pointed shuriken like mark, though this one was curved and looked more like three rain drops had been merged together while swirling. To the bottom right of that was a simple spiral, like the ones seen on the vest of every shinobi of Chuunin or above. And the final mark on the bottom left was what made him the most curious but also the most afraid.

It was a tear drop swirl that resembled closely the symbol on all Konoha shinobi's headbands. However, this one looked more like a water drop and there was only one other place he had seen a mark like that.

Hinata's personal crest. Her crest as the heir to the Hyuuga clan.

"I suggest you come at me with everything you have Kiba. I have no intention of losing this fight," Naruto's voice said in a deadly whisper as he moved his left foot back behind his body and rested most of his wait on it while his right foot stretched out and his hands took of relaxed palm open forms in front of his chest.

In the balcony Lee was looking at Naruto's stance with his brow furrowed. "_What kind of a stance is that?"_

Next to him his teacher, the most well known, for many reasons, taijutsu expert in the shinobi world, was thinking much along the sames lines as his pupil but was wondering more on where he had learned such an odd stance.

Kiba, his voice and body suddenly functioning again starred at Naruto a minute before letting his pride get to him.

"And why should I have to go all out on a wimp who barely passed the graduation exam?" he snarled, almost completely forgetting the fact that his body and mind had been telling him to flee just mere moments ago.

What happened next caught everyone by surprise. Chakra started to leak out of Naruto and swirl around him as if a gentle breeze was carrying it. But it wasn't the blue chakra that every shinobi possessed, this one had eleven distinct colors. The first one they all had noticed was the normal blue that every shinobi had, but following quickly behind a wisp of blue that lashed out like a flame was wisp of a deep purple. After that a crimson red one followed, though very slightly as it seemed to just barely resonate outward of Naruto as well as mix with the normal blue.

After that and two more blues pured out of his back, one looking a pale blue while the other was a dark almost to the point of being black. Following those where a white and a black chakra wisp that seemed to draw in and give off light as they moved. The four that suddenly followed after that though were probably the most spectacular. One was a bright shade of emerald green that glowed eerily as it lapped around Naruto's body. Another was tan, waving to and fro as if it were sand being blown by wind. The final two though, a darkened gold and and silver, seemed to give of a pleasant glow that somehow made everyone feel relaxed.

All eleven colors danced around his body like a flame, mixing here and there as they crossed paths and the only word that many of the shinobi present could think at the sight was, _"... Beautiful!."_

Kiba was brought back to reality though as Naruto spoke his next words that once said, brought every to look at the display that was Naruto with worry.

"Because if you do not, there is no telling what might happen to you fighting me."

Kiba didn't know if it was the words or the tones that, though freaking him out more than he had ever been in his life, seemed more calming though raising his want to fight even more. A smile quickly formed on his face as he reached back into his pouch and pulled out two pills.

"Have it your way then," he said and tossed a pill to his dog, Akamaru who caught the pill expertly and chomped down on it before turning red and turning back to Naruto. No one seemed to notice though the suddenly sad look that adorned Akamaru's face as it looked at Naruto and the swirling chakra around him.

"Let's do this Akamaru," Kiba said as he made a ram seal and started to gather his chakra, Akamaru yipping in response to his masters call.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X**

"_Naruto... what happened to you really?"_ Sarutobi thought as he watched the wonder that was Naruto channel his chakra and the spectacle that was before him took place.

**FLASHBACK**

_Sarutobi sighed as he looked out over the village. It was still early in the morning, so much of the villages population was asleep at the moment. The only people awake where the ANBU squads on guard duty that still silently patrolled the area and of course, himself the Hokage._

_His thoughts were currently on a certain blond haired blue eyed boy that had asked to leave suddenly for three days on what the Sandaime had decided to classify as a double S class mission that only he and Naruto where to know about._

_And at the moment, he was waiting somewhat anxiously for Naruto to return. The kid had said nothing about exactly what he was going for but it was something that the Akatsuki wanted and needed for their plans. So, needless to say when a presence suddenly materialized itself behind him in his office, he turned expecting to see Naruto holding some item._

_He did not however, expect to see Naruto slouched over with what looked to be a block of ice on his back that was easily five times large than he was. And to the Sandaime's confusion, Naruto's clothes had changed from what the had been. He was now dressed almost exactly like a member of the missing nin hunting squads of ANBU but at the same time he was bloodied and bruised and looked to be more than a little exhausted._

"_Everything was a success then?" Sarutobi asked as he watched Naruto gently place the large ice block onto the floor, the boards groaning in protest form the sudden cold weight before Naruto stood with a smile showing through the half ripped masked on his face._

"_Mission accomplished Oji-san. Though I guess I need to change how I think of someone a bit after today. Some people are just too damn good at covering up what they really are," Naruto said as he literally glared at the large ice block._

_Sarutobi could swear he felt the room drop in temperature as the ice started to buzz slightly before the room returned to normal as Naruto sighed._

"_You should probably get looked at Naruto," Sarutobi said as he walked around his desk to look a little closer at the bloodied blond kid turned man somehow in front of him._

_Naruto's smile instantly faded at that point though as his head bowed down to hide his face in the shadows that the early morning son granted him._

"_I'm fine Oji-san. No need to worry. Just a little skirmish is all," Naruto said, his voice barely above a whisper before he turned his face up again, his foxy smile back on, "And besides, I have an exam to attend to today, remember."_

_Sarutobi's brow furrowed in mild annoyance but he realized Naruto was right. He did however want to know what the ice block was for, as well as for what Naruto had meant when he said switch the names around on his arm._

"_And of this block of ice?"_

"_You'll see when the ice melts. Its gonna take about a week for that ice to fully melt though so you will probably want to put it somewhere where the water can run off. Oh and when it does melt, you might want to have a couple medic nin ready," Naruto said with his usual smile and before Sarutobi could ask, the blond had vanished._

**END FLASHBACK**

"_It's been five days now since he brought that ice and the medics I have watching it around the clock are saying they can see traces of images inside it. And I completely forgot about asking Naruto when the Kyuubi was out. Something is going on that they aren't telling us. But is it for the better, or the worse?" _Sarutobi thought to himself as he watched as a now transformed Akamaru and Kiba were moving at Naruto with their Gatsuuga attack at high speeds, and destroying the cement floor that was underneath where they were rebounding to go back at Naruto and slam into him again.

It must have been the twentieth hit for Kiba and Akamaru each when they had stopped their hellish barrage of their Gatsuuga to stare at Naruto. The chakra that he had displayed earlier was still swirling around him, not acting like a barrier like Kiba had feared, but at the same time, Naruto did not even try to dodge his attacks. Instead he took them straight on and now his body had to be paying for taking so many hits. Hell, anyone who had taken that many Gatsuugas and still retain consciousness had a card in his book.

But Naruto stood from his knocked down position none the less, his upper clothes torn from the claws Kiba and Akamaru slashed with while preforming their attack.

"Aren't you even going to fight back dead last? After all those big words you aren't even fighting," Kiba taunted as he and Akamaru shifted their stances to be more relaxed but also ready. Both of them eyed Naruto warily, the chakra still swirling around him , they saw that, despite the pounding they had done, the only damage done to Naruto were to his clothes.

As he stood, the black shirt he had started to fall from his body, revealing the markings underneath on his chest. From this distance Kiba couldn't make out what there were, but he had a somewhat ominous feeling about them. The feeling only grew as he heard the people who were standing behind Naruto on that side of the arena gasp.

"_So he has something on his back too. I guess I'll just have to find out once this match is over what they all are," _Kiba thought as he readied his muscles to prepare his next attack.

He never made it there though as Naruto's hands came up and started to do a sequence of seals. His hands were a blur but the sequence was ridiculous long, and Kiba could tell that what ever Naruto was about to did had to be something big.

Only two people in the entire arena recognized the seal sequence though and both were now rooted to floor with horror and shock. Kakashi, who had just appeared a few seconds before Naruto started to do his seals, and Sarutobi starred wide eyed at the seals.

"_He couldn't possibly be doing..."_

"_No way in hell is he going to..."_

Both mens thoughts were cut off as the name of the technique escaped Naruto's lips as he ended in the ram seal.

"Ninpo: Shiki Fuujin... KAI!"

The chakra around Naruto exploded at that point as the colors suddenly faded to be complete blackness. It swirled around Naruto violently, tearing up the concrete around him and tossing the debris create away. Then slowly the black chakra turned into a dark purple and to Kiba's horror, it surrounded Akamaru. It had moved so fast away from Naruto that he had blinked and the chakra was gone revealing a slightly askew and panting Naruto, only to have his focus move to a now howling in pain Akamaru.

"AKAMARU!" Kiba yelled as he tried to get close to the swirling chakra.

He got within about five feet of the chakra before a wisp lashed out and slammed into him. The force of the blow sent him flying against the far away wall. His head slammed harder into the stone than he thought possible and as he slid down the wall as his consciousness slowly started to fade away, he saw the chakra around Akamaru fade away to reveal what he could only think of as a transformed Akamaru.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X**

"_When did Naruto get this powerful?"_ Sakura thought as she watched the medic nin come in in a hurry to check on Kiba.

Her gaze went back to Naruto as he was on his hands and knees panting heavily, sweat glistening off his back showing he had put a large effort into what he had done. But her eyes were glued to the tattoo on his back.

"_When the hell did he get that tattoo too?" _she thought as her she studied the details of the tattoo. None of the creatures beside the Kyuubi she could recognize, nor could she figure out why each of them had chains on them and the tails they sprouted. But the marking in between them all that the chains came from had her attention the most. She swore she could have seen the mark somewhere before but she couldn't put her finger on it as to where.

But her thoughts were suddenly interrupted as she felt a hand on her shoulder, making her squeak in surprise as she turned around to the person behind her. To her relief, she was meat with the 'Smiling Eye' of Kakashi. As she felt her body relax though, and idea came to her.

"Ano, sensei, do you know what that tattoo is on Naruto's back? I don't remember ever seeing it before," she asked, a great deal of concern and curiosity in her voice.

"I have an idea but that is something that you will have to ask Naruto yourself on seeing as how this is also the first time I have ever seen that mark."

Sakura's shoulders slumped a little at her sensei's answer but she figured as much, even as she had asked him the question.

"However, I need to talk to Hokage-sama for a minute as the medics do their job. And by the way, Saskue is fine, hes just resting at the moment," Kakashi said, his eye crinkling into a smile again before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

Once he had left, Sakura turned back around to find Naruto standing again as he was proclaimed the victor of the match and grabbing what was left of his shirt and putting it back on.

"_What's changed about you Naruto?" _Sakura thought to herself as Naruto slowly and with a limp made his way over to the stairs to come back up to the stands.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X**

"So you recognized it too?" Sarutobi asked, not even having to turn around to know Kakashi was suddenly behind him.

"Hai, but what did he do exactly to Akamaru?" Kakashi asked as he took a look at the dog from this closer vantage point. It was then he noticed a great deal of difference in the small puppy.

For one, Akamaru no longer looked like the dog common with the Inuzuka. Instead his appearance had become more wolfish, the fur on his tail fluffing out more and the mane around his neck and head fluffing out more as well. Next was that he was no longer white. Most of his fur had taken on a very dark purple color that was almost black. His mane and tail however turned into a grayish silver with a tint of purple in it. And finally his body had grown a little bit as if the muscles that he normally had filled out more and seemed to be more toned.

Sarutobi took a long draw on his pipe as he watched the Medic nin proclaim that Kiba was fine and took him out on a stretcher while a separate one, who had first looked at the transformed Akamaru in shock, had picked up the still relatively small puppy and had brought it over to where Kiba was and laid him down next to his master on the stretcher before he left.

"I truly do not know what it is that Naruto has done. We can only pray he has not done something that we will regret," Sarutobi said solemnly as he moved his sight to watch Naruto limp towards the stairs.

"What of the Uchiha, Kakashi?" Anko asked from beside the Hokage, her face in a great deal of concern but barely holding back the malice that her body wished to enact upon someone or thing.

"It has been taken care of Anko-san," Kakashi said as he turned to face her with his smiling eye that just seemed to piss her off more so than she was at the moment.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X**

"_Na-Naruto-kun won.." _Hinata thought as she watched Naruto slowly make his way up the stairs. She held in her hand a jar of ointment she had made and she was currently trying to find the courage in herself to give it to Naruto to heal the wounds he no doubt would have.

She had managed to find a small sliver of resolve as he had ascended the last step but he had only managed two more steps away from the stairs before collapsing onto his hands and knees breathing heavily.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata squeaked as she fell to her knees to see if Naruto was okay.

His head was down so she couldn't see his face but she did see a small spot on the cement beneath him that was had suddenly become covered in blood as he coughed.

"Na-Naruto kun... a-are you a-alright?" Hinata asked as she placed a hand on his back.

His body instantly tensed at the cool feeling of her soft hands on his back, which was mostly exposed due to his shirts current condition.

"I... I'm fine Hinata-chan. I just put a bit much into that last move," Naruto said as his mind reeled over his fight and the fight before him.

He closed his eyes before lifting his head and then gingerly moved his body so that he was sitting on the ground and had his back against the cool stone of the wall.

As he rested his head back against the wall as well, his senses told him that most of the people from the Konoha teams were looking at him. He couldn't tell what emotions where on his face but he could guess that amongst most of the adults within the arena they were probably looking at him in fear while the gennin, and he had a feeling all of the gennin that were competing, were looking at him with calculating or confused looks.

"Na-Naruto-kun..." Hinata's voice called out softly.

Naruto opened his eyes slowly, his piercing blue meeting the white emptiness of Hinata. As he starred into her eyes, he could see how flustered she was in trying to talk to him and at the same time a great deal of concern. It was those two things that triggered another memory to flash through his head.

**FLASHBACK**

"_Naruto-kun!" Hinata's voice called out, making Naruto turn around from where he was looking._

_When he turned he saw a running Hinata, though older and adorned in the white coat of a medic nin from a hospital, stop in her tracks. But the Naruto that stood before her wasn't the one she had ever thought of seeing. Most of his body was surrounding by a blood red chakra that was seeping out from his body and the only reason she could even tell it was him was from the blond hair he had, though it was stained red in various places, peoples blood she noted. But the stone cold feral face he had, also splattered with blood, as well how demonic he now looked was what had stopped her in her tracks._

_Her mouth was open in shock and fear as she gazed at Naruto but at the same time, Naruto could see a great sadness within her eyes as she stood in front of him, her eyes locked with his._

"_Why Naruto-kun? Why are you doing this? Why are you destroying everything you tried so hard to protect?" she asked, her voice frantic and pleading._

_Naruto could feel his smile grow on his face until it could literally be along the same lines as maniacal._

"_**What other reason should I need than a world where everyone only wished me dead. They have unleashed the demon that they feared and shall pay for what they have sewn,"** Naruto's voice rang out. It was not the same exuberant voice of his youth, but rather deep, dark, and overall powerful._

_Hinata's eyes visibly teared at his words but they did not blink as they looked into his. They did not even blink as Naruto moved with blinding speed towards here and rammed both of his clawed hands and through her stomach and out her back. Then with sickening force, he ripped his arms apart and out sideways, shredding bones, organs, and skin apart with sheer force._

_Hinata's arms moved before he had done this though and wrapped around Naruto's neck in what she could only hope felt like a hug to him as she suddenly lost feeling from her waist down and an immense amount of pain erupted in her brains as well as a sickening sense of vertigo._

_Her arms tensed slightly as sh tried to hold her body wait up long enough to whisper her last words into his ear._

"_I... I love you Naruto-kun, and I always will, no matter what you are," she managed to say before darkness took her and her body fell away from a now thunder stuck Naruto, who was gazing into the now dead white eyes of Hyuuga Hinata._

**END FLASHBACK**

That same look of sadness though was now visible in Hinata's eyes as his mind came back to the present. As it did though, he felt an immense pain fill his chest and he swore he could feel a spot on his chest also start to burn as the pain came.

"Naruto-kun, you aren't fine," Hinata said as her face and voice steeled, catching the many people who where listening to her off guard, including Naruto, whose eyes opened in shock.

Without another word though she reached out and grabbed Naruto's hand somewhat forcefully but at the same time gently and placed something in it before closing his hand around it.

When she turned her eyes back up to Naruto, his shock was still evident but she would not be deterred. The confidence in her eyes said as much.

"This ointment should help your wound Naruto-kun and," her voice at this point lowered to barely a whisper that Naruto could barely hear, ".. and I know you are in pain from something else. I want to help you Naruto-kun, but I don't know how."

If Naruto could have done anything at that exact moment in time, he would have started to cry and pull Hinata into a hug and kiss her as if his life depended on it, but as it was, he was frozen in shock that Hinata had spoken him in a manner that he had never once heard her speak before.

But as the seconds of silence passed, Hinata's mind started to catch up with her body's actions and she realized exactly what she had just done. On the spot her face invented even more new shades of red as she blushed and quickly stood before walking back to her other teammate with haste.

She was stopped midway though by a hand that clasped hers, forcing her to turn around and look at the now smiling Naruto.

"Thank you, Hinata-chan," he said softly with a genuine smile that made Hinata's heart melt and her face flush more before he let her go and she all but sprinted to hide on the other side of a now smirking Kurenai.

A cough however brought everyones attention back to center of the area where Hayate had a somewhat amused and annoyed expression at the same time.

"Will Gracien of Hidden Spirits and Kaito of Hidden Stone please come down to the arena for the fourth match," Hayate said as he motioned to the board that held the peoples names. Everyone turned to watch as the two cloaked shinobi jumped over the edge and down to the arena floor where they took sides. The stone gennin moved to stand with his back to the Konoha shinobi while the other cloaked gennin kept his back to his teammates on the opposite side.

Both cloaked men had their hoods up, hiding their faces everyone else and making it so that the only difference between the two, besides the large build of the stone nin and the lithe build of the spirit nin, was that the spirit nin had the bird with the emerald markings on his back.

"Fourth match, HAJIME!" Hayate called out once both fighters were ready and jumped back to observe the match.

"So it seems I get to fight a member who hurt my comrade. You'll pay for what your teammate did to mine," Kaito said as he moved his left foot back slightly and raised his left fist back as if to strike.

"You can try, but you will not succeed," Gracien stated calmly as he just crossed his arms over his chest and stood there, much like how Katsuhito had done.

"You're tricks won't work on me!" Kaito yelled, noticing how Gracien was standing and immediately went to one knee as he slammed his fist into the ground. To a few peoples surprise, his hand actually pierced the stone that he had hit but more than a few were surprised as a stone hand erupted from the cement to wrap around a still standing Gracien.

In the stands, Gaara's eyes narrowed in annoyance while Temari, Kankuro, and their sensei Baki looked on in fear as the all recognized the attack, especially as the stone nin call out the names.

"Iwa Sabaku Kyu"

The stone nin then removed his hand form the floor and pointed it at where he stone hand had covered Gracien.

"Iwa Sabaku Soso," he called as he clenched his fist again. The pressure that suddenly came within the rock fist being more than enough to obliterate any trace of anything within it.

"And thus I win," Kaito said smugly as the stone hand disintegrate into nothingness revealing nothing in its wake. His walk stopped though as he felt a presence behind him.

"You are seriously too hasty for your own good. I am by far out of your league," the voice of Gracien echoed in Kaito's ear.

To say the stone nin was pissed would be an understatement at Gracien's words and in blind fury he turned around to swing at him. His backhand blow never connected though and in confusion he looked at his arm, for some reason believing it had betrayed him. It was frozen mid swing and every time he tried to will it to move, it just stayed there, outstretched and frozen.

"What the hell did you do to me?" Kaito demanded as he even tried to pull his frozen arm away from mid air with his other arm but to no avail.

"Something your brutish mind could never comprehend. But if not being able to move your arm made you curious, I'm sure this next move is going to just drive you wild," Gracien said, his body and voice suddenly appearing directly in front of Kaito. And for what ever reason Kaito could not explain, he just knew Gracien was smirking under his cloak, especially as he held out his hand with all five tips of his fingers pointed at him.

Then, to his greatest surprise, the tips of Gracien's fingers started to glow slighlty. It was the faintest of light at first but then a clear orb of light was visibly and shining brightly. Kaito's mind raced to figure out what Kaito was doing, having never heard of such a technique before in his life.

All thought process stopped as the five small orbs suddenly burst into flames and came hurtling at him rapidly. They all slammed into his chest and even before he felt the contact of the orbs, he was already burned from the surprisingly intense heat of the flames. The resounding explosion that happened at contact sent him flying back faster than he had ever moved in his life where it was abruptly stopped with his back slamming into the stone wall.

The distortion of reality that came from what must have been a concussion didn't register the pain he should be feeling at first. Instead, he had a light buzz that kept sounding in his head as waves of nausea assaulted his stomach. It was when he looked back to Gracien though that he realized something was horribly wrong. For there, floating in the air where he had been just a moment before, was the bloody appendage that was his arm.

Out of shock he reached up to where he now had a bloody stump, not feeling anything there but torn skin and bones and a lot of blood. He brought his hand now covered in blood for a moment before passing out and collapsing in a heap to the floor, his limb falling from the air a few moments later.

The other shinobi in the stands where both horrified and speechless at the horrific sight that was in their view. None of them, not even most of the Jounin, had ever seen anything so brutal as the gennin from the Hidden Spirits were displaying.

Naruto however was the only one looking at the scene not in shock or terror or in a way the resembled someone about to loose their lunch, as was the look of Ino, Sakura, and Hinata. No, he was livid.

"_Who the hell are these guys? And why are they associating themselves with Akatsuki? Better yet, why the hell are the Akatsuki making up a false village?" _Naruto mulled in his head as his sight moved from the bloody scene that the medic nins where rushing to clean up and fix the stone nin, up to where the Hidden Spirit nin where with the two Akatsuki members behind them.

"You seem tense Naruto? You should relax since your fight is over," Kakashi's voice suddenly said behind him in its normally calm and lazy tone.

"It's hard to relax when the I'm looking at two assholes that put me in the situation I'm in now," Naruto all but growled out in barely above a whisper.

Kakashi was a bit taken back by Naruto's tone of voice but he gazed over to where the blond was looking and his one visible eye narrowed as well.

"...So... that's what they look like... and he dares to come back too," Kakashi also growled out as he glared at the two in the black cloaks with red clouds.

Naruto blinked a couple of times in confusion as he turned his head to look up questioningly at Kakashi. However that look was quickly replaced by one of understanding, then shock, then, and this is where Kakashi suddenly became concerned for Naruto's sanity, a huge foxy grin.

"So I get to pay my debt back then. I will have to enjoy this," Naruto said quietly, still with his grin as he turned back to looking at the nin he had been glaring at just moments ago. All of them seemed to intellectually tense and shiver at the look he was giving and more than a few of the other gennin as well as the Jounin that were around the Hokage could not help but feel slightly scared. After all, most of them had only seen Naruto grin like that when he was about to pull a prank on a grand scale.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X**

"_These gennin are something else this year," _Hayate thought as Gracien made his way back up to his team and the board started to swirl again. _"I seriously hope there won't be as many other oddities as only these four matches have given so far."_

When he looked up at the board, he couldn't help but feel that no matter how much he wished, something odd was about to happen for this next match, especially when he saw the names.

"Sybil of the Hidden Spirits and Moga of the Hidden Stone, please come down for the fifth match," he called out, dreading the possibility of the next match as well as wondering how the hell Hidden Spirits had managed to be squared off solely a

gainst Hidden Stone.

The last of the two villages both jumped down from their positions with their teams and made their way to positions on either side of Hayate.

"Figures I'd get a little woman to toy with. I'm going to enjoy this," Moga said as his stood up taller, towering a good two feet taller that Sybil. His tone though sent shivers down every females spine for a moment. It was just too... womanizing to be acceptable.

She however, said nothing and waited with her arms at her sides for Hayate to start the match. When his arm cut the air though and the last syllable of hajime left his lips, Sybil vanished only to reappear directly in front of Moga.

The only sight that could even show she had attack was the distinct fact that her foot was directly between the large oafs legs as well as, even though she was smaller, her still extended foot was supporting the larger man at least a few inches off the ground. It took several seconds for every male watching, including Naruto and Sarutobi, to realize what had happened and, out of pure reflex for the situation, cover their family jewels and cross their legs as they winced at Moga's obvious pain.

Then, to the surprise of everyone within the arena, including her own teammates, Sybil moved her hand up and pulled back her hood to let the person who still rested on her outstretched leg to see how livid she was. Her face, though currently red at the moment in anger, was well shaped to someone who had trained for a very long time and her hair was tied back in a low ponytail that was tucked into the rest of her cloak. Then finally, her chocolate brown eyes were glaring daggers into Moga's head as it lolled from side to side as he gasped for air and battled for consciousness

"Never. And I mean **_never_** speak in such away ever again," Sybil said in a deadly whisper before doing what every male on the planet would considering adding insult to injury.

She lowered her leg just enough for his feet to touch back on the ground and relieve the pressure to his aching nether regions. However, the pressure was short lived as Sybil with lighting quick movements drew her foot back and kicked him right between the legs again.

His howl of pain was felt by all the males as his body rose a good foot into the air from the force of the kick. But then in a blinding motion, Sybil replanted her foot back down before spinning around and delivering a vicious side kick to Moga's chest, sending him flying into the wall, blissfully unconscious from the pain that should be assaulting his body from between his legs and the broken ribs he no doubt had in his chest.

Every male in the room had sweat-dropped as Sybil had just crossed her arms, snorted once, and then somehow teleported back up to her teammates who where still cringing and unconsciously turned their neither regions away from her, as did the two Akatsuki members behind her team. Most of the females however had a somewhat smug look on their faces and almost all of them nodded with grim satisfaction at how Sybil had handled Moga.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X**

"_I'm seriously going to need to have a drink after these preliminaries,"_ Hayate thought once he recovered from his shock of how Sybil had dealt with her opponent. Swift and simple, but he had a feeling he needed to remember to watch what he said around any and all women from now on.

However, his thoughts were brought back to how much he would have to drink to try and forget this day as he saw the next two names appear. And they were two names he wished he was reading incorrectly.

Hyuuga Hinata and Hyuuga Neji.

"Will the participants cough for the next match please make their way down here please," he said as he mentally did a check of his funds to see how much sake it was going to take to forget today.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X**

Hinata froze when she saw the board and the two names on it. She had been dreading having to face Neji in some way or form ever since their sensei had told them she had signed them up for the exam. But now she was stuck in a position she truly did not wish to be in.

"_Neji-nii-san..."_ she thought forlornly as she looked over to the other Hyuuga, and winced slightly at the glare she was getting from him before he turned and walked down the steps into the arena.

She was so nervous she almost fainted when a warm and comforting hand placed itself on her shoulder. But she steeled her reaction somewhat and turned to look at who was supporting her, only to blush furiously when she realized it was Naruto.

"Hinata-chan," Naruto started as he looked over to her and into her eyes, only making her blush deeper but still listen, "... don't listen to anything Neji says. He may be the prodigy of the Hyuuga yes but he's got a rod crammed up his ass."

At the simple though somewhat vulgar comment, Hinata had to force herself not to pass from embarrassment.

"You are strong all on your own Hinata-chan so do not listen to anything he tells you," he said with a smile.

Hinata couldn't help but feel a small smile creep to her face as a feeling swelled in her chest. With a small nod she removed herself from Naruto's grip and walked confidently in the arena where she stood face to face with Neji.

Neji noticed her change almost immediately and he scowled when he saw it.

"_Her stance is different and she is more confident than I have ever seen her. What could have caused such a thing I wonder..."_ Neji thought angrily as he continued glarring at the still confident Hinata.

"Before we begin I have on thing to say," Neji said, somewhat cutting off Hayate from starting the match and startling a few people in the stands, "You should quit being a ninja Hinata-sama. You are to gentle and too kind to call yourself a shinobi."

"No," Hinata replied, her voice firm though a little shaky.

Her response made Neji's brow furrow in annoyance as he glared harder at her.

"You cannot win Hinata-sama. Fate chose you to be the failure of this match as..." Neji started but was cut off, loudly by Naruto.

"Why don't you cram that fate crap up your ass Neji and let Hinata show you how strong she truly is!" Naruto screamed from the stands, drawing everyone's attention to him with a mixture of looks. Some people had shock, most of the gennin had this, and some in confusion as they saw Naruto gripping the bottle of healing ointment tightly in his hand with his face contorted into one of anger and annoyance.

"_Annoying insect,"_ Neji thought angrily as he decided to stop talking and slid into the Jyuuken stance as did Hinata.

"_Thank you, Naruto-kun. I promise, I won't let you down. I will show Neji-ni-san how strong I am," _Hinata thought confidently as she waited for Hayate to start the match.

"HAJIME!" Hayate called out a few seconds later signaling the start of the match.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X**

Naruto was could not help but smile inwardly as well as a bit outwardly as he watched Neji and Hinata square off. This match was a bit different from the one he remembered but for the most part it was the exact same. The strikes and blows traded between the two Hyuuga and the awe of more than a few gennin watching.

"Sensei, why are their fighting styles so similar?" he heard Sakura ask to his right.

He had recovered enough during Gracien's and Sybil's fight enough to stand back up and move back to be with his team with Gai's team to his left. He absolutly refused to look over towards said team when Lee was talking to him, which confused the green glad teen as well as Sakura and Kakashi to an extent.

"They are both Hyuugas and are fighting with the Hyuuga clan style, Jyuuken," Naruto said, answering Sakura's question before Kakashi could.

Kakashi's eye smiled lazily at Naruto's answer, figuring he would know a bit about the Jyuuken considering he was supposed to be from another reality. Sakura however looked at Naruto a bit stunned, wondering how her teammate suddenly knew so much.

"Care to elaborate a bit more for Sakura Naruto?" Kakashi said, his smiling eye still in place.

"The Hyuuga's Doujutsu, their Bloodline Limit the Byakugan, allows them to see the inner coils of the chakra network on anything as well as giving them an almost 360 degree view around them. Not only that, they can see the tenketsu of the chakra coils of a person and as such, the Hyuuga clan developed a style of Taijutsu that attacks the network directly, causing massive damage to the persons chakra network, and at the same time, the organs of their opponent," Naruto spouted out without looking away from the match, and not noticing the somewhat floored expressions of Sakura and the gennin of Team Gai. None of them had expected Naruto to know so much about a clans style of fighting but he sprouted off the information as if he had experienced it first hand.

"But there is a flaw with the Jyuuken," he continued in barely a whisper, making Team Gai, Sakura, and Kakashi to look at Naruto like he had grow a second head.

"While the Jyuuken does allow the Hyuuga to attack a persons tenketsu, if a person can keep them open, they render their ability useless. That is a common flaw. The less known one though, even more so than the blind spot of the Hyuuga, is that the Jyuuken isn't as all powerful as it seems. In regards to taijutsu, its about as useful as the academy style stances are in a Jounin battle when it is used without the Byakugan as well as the users ability to mold chakra properly. Not to mention it has the same problem the Sharingan does. If the person you are facing is faster than you are, even with the larger area of perception or the ability to predict where the next attack will be, if your body cannot react in time, your finished. The final one though, which every one seems to miss is that the Hyuuga, though they can expel the chakra from their bodies for such moves as their Kaiten, can only do damage to the tenketsu through their hands. When their hands are rednered useless..." Naruto said but stopped, not feeling like finishing his explanation as a few memeories rushed through his head.

Most of the gennin who heard this were struck speechless at Naruto's description of what was considered the two most powerful Bloodlines in all of Konoha. Kakashi and Gai however, where both starring at Naruto with their jaws slack. Both of them knew most of the weaknesses of both the Sharingan and the Byakugan, but such knowledge only came from having to work with people who had said abilities. Naruto, to even Kakashi's surprise, sounded as if he had experienced having those abilities and had found the flaws through trial and error.

So wrapped up were those in Naruto's description they missed the far away look on his eyes as a few images flashed before his eyes.

One was of Sasuke and him fighting blindly at the Valley of the End, with Sasuke trying his damnedest to try and stop the too fast attacks coming from a Naruto with one of the tails released from the Kyuubi. Another one was of Neji's bloodied body that had been found with an arrow through his chest, just barely above his heart and missing the vital organs and arteries.

His attention snapped back to the ring though as Neji landed a solid blow to Hinata's chest knocking her back and to the floor face first.

"Examiner, this match is over," Neji stated confidently as he turned his back to Hinata, ready to make his way back into the stands. For the most part, he was impressed that Hinata had managed to score several hits on him, and to his greatest surprise, even seal a few tenketsu on his torso, making him sore and stiff as he moved but still able to function properly.

"N-No...t-the m-match isn't o-over yet..." Hinata's voice rasped out behind him, forcing him to stop, turn, and glare at Hinata as he saw her rise to her hands and knees.

The young Hyuuga coughed several times, blood spewing from her mouth with each cough onto the ground but she steeled herself and stood back up on shaky feet.

"T-The match is not over Neji-ni-san. Not until I've proven how much I have changed, how much stronger I have become. Because I realize now Neji-ni-san, t-the o-one who is suffering from the s-separation of our branches, i-is y-you Neji-ni-san," Hinata said as she slid back into a Jyuuken stance, though it was a lot weaker and not as solid as it was at the start of the match.

Neji didn't respond to her words. Instead he activated his Byakugan out of anger and charged her as he readied a final strike, one that would surely end her life.

"Neji-sama the match is over," Hayate called out the second he saw Neji's Byakugan activate. His words didn't reach the enraged Hyuuga though and he had to step in. A foot away from Hinata, everyone who had gone to stop Neji from finishing off Hinata was stopped in their tracks, as was Neji, from a sudden explosive output of chakra laced with what had to be the most terrifying killing intent laced with it.

It lasted only a few moments but in those few moments everyone in the arena was now facing the arena where the chakra had emitted from. For there, standing between Neji and Hinata was Naruto, arms stretched out wide facing Neji and in front of Hinata.

"The match is over Neji," Naturo simply stated as he leveled his glare eye to eye with Neji. The Hyuuga was startled at first that Naruto had stopped him but he quickly contorted his face back to a neutral one of annoyance. He snorted in annoyance as well as he crossed his arms to glare back at Naruto, though flinching inwardly as he saw that Naruto's eyes had changed from electric blue, to a slitted blood red.

Naruto's glare however was soon cut off as he heard a cough behind him and then a gasp for air. He wheeled around quickly to find Hinata falling to the ground, her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and blood slowly escaping from her lips.

"Hinata-chan!" he called out as he caught her body and laid her on the ground gently. The medic nins where already rushing towards him once he had laid her on the ground but stopped once they saw Naruto start to do a very long very complex amount of hand seals.

He stopped on the dragon seal briefly before each of his fingertips on both hands light up with a calming green fire. They couldn't make out the name of the jutsu of whatever it is that Naruto had just made but they were more concerned for Hinata, especially when they saw him place a hand over where her heart was as well as her forehead.

Once Naruto's hands were in place though, the same greenish colored chakra started to emit from his body in a massive amount. It rolled off him in gentle waves and to many of the people, including Sarutobi and the medic nins, the chakra rolled over Hinata before being absorbed into her. The process only lasted about ten seconds but when it was done, Naruto collapsed without a word over Hinata's stomach, he now just as unconscious as Hinata was

The medic nins didn't even need to be told twice before rushing over and checking the two now unconscious shinobi. To their surprise, Hinata was fine, though her chakra was at a dangerously low level, and Naruto, though with no wounds on him was now suffering a severe case of chakra depletion.

The medic nins quickly picked up both shinobi before carting them off quickly to the hospital while one of them stayed behind to inform the Hokage and the others of their conditions.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X**

"Ow..." was the only thing Hinata could think or say when she felt her body waking up. She was face first, that much she could tell from the feeling of dirt being smudged into her face.

"_Wait a second. Dirt? When did I end up outside?"_ Hinata thought confused as she opened her eyes and forced her body to its hands and knees. What she saw around her though was the same grassy plain she had been in before she had woken up in the tower.

She stood up as fast as she could, remembering the oddly comforting tiger that was apparently here, but had to slow down some as her body ached and moved stiffly.

When she was standing tall again she looked around once more, searching for the outcropping of trees that she had seen last time. She found them quickly a couple of hundred yards away from her, and, though painfully, she started to walk / stumble her way towards the outcropping.

It seemed to take her forever to make it there and when she did, she collapsed back down to her hands and knees, the pain throughout her body at a point she was wondering how she had managed to walk that distance without falling.

"Well it seems you are back again," she heard that same soft and deep voice booming out around her thought its amusement was laced in its words as well.

"Why... how... am I back here?" Hinata asked gasping for a bit of air.

"Hmmmm." was her only response from the tiger, not knowing exactly where it was since she was looking at the ground.

A few seconds later though she felt a warm sensation wrap around her body and she felt the pain that was throbbing through her body quick ebb away and be replaced with relaxation.

"There you go. That should feel better," the tiger said, the amusement still evident in its voice.

Hinata couldn't help but feel herself smile at the tigers words and forced her body to sit back on her heels as she looked to the tiger.

Or rather up to the tiger. It had grown somewhat and was now at least twice as tall as she was, making her eyes open wide in amazement. Not only had the tiger grown, but its fur had also become silkier, if the bright shine that came off from its dark blue fur was any indication, and she couldn't help but think the fur was incredibly soft as well.

The tiger, though watching Hinata with great enjoyment, could not help but laugh as he saw her awed look as she was starring at its fur. Though after a few seconds it laid down to be face to face with her, its large head being about the size of her torso as it stared into her eyes again.

"Sugoii..." Hinata whispered out as she looked into the brilliant amber eyes of the two tailed tiger.

"I believe you have the loud mouthed one to thank for this," the tiger said as it motioned its head back at its body.

"N-Naruto-kun? But how? I thought you said we were in my mind?"

"True, but that boy has many talents that very few know of. What happened to you though is that he saved your life," the tiger said and had to stop for a second at Hinata's gasp of surprise, "He jumped in front of the other Hyuuga to take the blow for you had the strike followed through, but the damage had already been done to you earlier. Your heart ruptured from the strain those Jyuuken strikes put on it and you were bleeding internally. Naruto, being who he is, saved you by doing what he had told you to do in case you needed help. Well somewhat of that anyways."

"He channeled chakra into the necklace? But how did that help?" Hinata asked, now very confused.

"Yes, he did. Naruto... he has a... unique connection with that necklace you wear. Regardless of that, the chakra he pushed into you as well as the jutsu he used managed to... restore what was damaged."

"He healed me? To save my life?" Hinata asked, though mostly to herself and her voice barely above a whisper making it hard for even the tiger to hear her.

At those words though, the tigers attitude changed to one of pain and guilt filled with sadness.

"He feels he owes a debt to you little one. He feels he owes a debt to a lot of people for his past actions," the tiger said, its voice changing dramatically which caught Hinata off guard. Where it was once booming, it was now soft, where it was once deep, it was now feminine, and where it was once held a tone of amusement, it now held one that a mother would. To say Hinata wasn't surprised or curious would have been an understatement and her face showed each reaction as clear as day.

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked curious at the tiger's sudden change of emotions, and at the same time some what fearful of what she might find out.

"It means that..." the tiger started but stopped as it sighed and looked at the pond as its eyes glazed over a bit, "...you know that Naruto has had a hard life. Anyone that has spent enough time just watching him knows about the many faces he puts up to deal with everything that's happened to him. But... there a few things about Naruto that you don't know."

At this point the tiger looked back at Hinata and saw the hurt look on her face and the pleading expression in her eyes to tell her what the tiger was talking about. The tiger only sighed a heavier sigh before looking back into Hinata's eyes with a fierce look. The intenseness of it made Hinata flinch somewhat but she remained still as best she could awaiting what the tiger had planned.

"I want to ask you something? Will you, no matter what you find out about Naruto, no matter what has happened to him or what he himself has done, care about him?"

"W-Why do you ask that?" Hinata asked somewhat confused as she mulled the question over in her head a break neck pace, trying to figure out what the tiger implied by asking it.

"Just answer the question," the tiger said out in a growl, the feminine voice sounding scary.

Hinata involuntarily squeaked at the growl but she regained what composure she could before she nodded determined.

"Good. And to warn you, everything you see is real," the tiger stated.

And before Hinata could even ask anything else, she felt her world go dark. It was like that for a few moments before hundreds upon millions of memories started to flood her mind's eye.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X**

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata gasped out as her body shot up, covered in sweat.

It was dark where ever she was, and it took her a few minutes of sitting up gasping before she looked around to see where she was. Just from sitting up she could tell she was in a bed, but she had immediately noticed it was not her own. But as she looked around, she realized she was in a hospital. The main factor being the somewhat overly sterile smell the place gave off, not to to mention there was another bed in the room she was in with someone in it.

But even with the soft light of the moon giving the faint glow that was in the room, she could not see who it was or much else of the room. Curiosity got the better of her she activated her Byakugan without realizing it and starred at the person in the other bed.

"Naruto-kun..." she whispeed as she slid out of the bed, carefully bringing the sheets with her as she already could feel she was in just a hospital gown.

Ever so silently, she walked over to the edge of Naruto's bed and looked down at the person she had admired for so long. What she saw was though made her brow furrow for a moment. There were markings on his chest that she couldn't remember being there before and again she silently she activated her Byakugan.

"_My Family? Who's his..."_ Hinata though as she started as his neck and worked down to where the names where. But what she saw over his heart stopped all mental process she was having as memories started to flood through her head.

Every memory came in explicit detail, her not missing any part of it, and thought they felt familiar to her, she could tell they were not hers, at least not entirely. But the cause of all this was the intricate kanji that she had read.

_Hyuuga Hinata_.

"Oh, Naruto-kun..." Hinata gasped out as the memories stopped. Tears started to form at her still open eyes, locked onto her name and all she could do was sink to her knees as her hands reached out to grasp Naruto's as she wept into his hand and the edge of the bed.


	6. Thoughts and Details

A/N: Another bit of warning to my readers, I kinda kept having a bunch of spots where my mind would just go blank. I've read, reread, and edited this chapter a number of times and had to edit a lot before i got it decent enough to where I liked it.

**Jjvalor**: Fully restored I have planned for greater. Think, all nine sealed in one body would make one helluva capacity. However control wise, he would get slapped around. Remember, he had all nine sealed into him then had his mind controlled. I will explain a bit later in the story the true extent of his powers though.

And thanks to all of the people have read and reviewed. I like the feed back .

The Heavens Curse

Chapter 5: Thoughts and Details

_Drip._

Naruto was walking quietly along a path through the forest outside Konoha. He had decided to just take a day to himself and walk in silence as he mulled over a great deal many things in his head.

"Hey Naruto!" Naruto heard his name being called behind him. He turned to see all of his friends behind him smiling. Kiba had Akamaru placed on top of his head as usual, the small dog wagging its tail happily as it looked at him.

Shino stood next to him, still dressed the same but his face was above his collar for once, also adorned with a smile. To the left of those two were Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji, dressed the same as usual with their usual antics between them still going on but they all where smiling at him non the less. To the right of Shino and Kiba where Lee and Neji, with Lee ranting about the passionate flames of youth and Neji just smiling.

Behind all three teams were their sensei's who where, like their teams, smiling at Naruto as well as their teams cheerfulness.

"Hey dobe," a smug and prideful voice echoed off to his right making Naruto turn to see Sasuke and Sakura with Kakashi behind them. Sakura had her hands behind her back and was smiling warmly at him while Sasuke had his right side turned to Naruto with his arms crossed, but he still wore what could be called a smiling look at him.

"Yo," Kakashi gave his usual greeting with his Smiling Eye and a small wave of his little orange book.

Naruto could not help but smile at the scene of his friends but there was someone missing...

"_Where's Hinata-chan?"_ Naruto thought solemnly before he heard a soft feminine voice behind him.

"Naruto-kun," the voice said making him turn.

His world turned upside down though the second he turned around. The scenery of the forest changed from the lush lavish green that Konoha was known for to a burnt and barren wasteland. A little far off in the distance he could see the remains of what was once Konoha, the fires that had burnt it to the ground still raging somewhat and the red glow of the flames on the smoke filled sky.

"Naruto-kun," the voice called again, though this time softer and more strained.

His head whipped from side to side trying to find the voice before he realized it was coming from below his field of vision. When he looked to the ground though, his heart twisted into a halt and his stomach felt like tying itself in knots.

There on the ground before him was everyone he had ever known that had cared for him. Kurenai had a kunai lodged in her throat, Gai, his forehead, and Kakashi, surprisingly, had his throat slit. Neji had a hole through his stomach and chest and Lee had a hole where his heart should be. Kiba was torn to pieces, his arms and legs torn off and his head twisted to face the back of his body. Shino was nothing more than a burnt corpse, the only thing distinguishing him being the melted glass of his sunglasses where his eye were. Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji were all pilled around each other, all of their bodies beaten and broken. Sakura and Sasuke where no where to be found but Naruto didn't need to look for them. He just _knew_ that he would never find their bodies again.

Then Naruto saw Hinata's corpse. Her body torn in half from the stomach outwards, both halves a good foot away from each other. And TenTen, her body looked to have been ripped in half vertically, almost as if she had been cut in half by a dull axe that had needed more than once chop to do the job.

Blood pooled around all of the bodies of his friends and the smell of death hang heavily in the air. Naruto could feel his insides twisting and turning, wanting to spew up what was left of his stomach at the horrific sight someone had caused.

"_No... I caused this..."_ Naruto thought, the feeling overwhelming him as he fell to his hands and knees panting heavily and on the verge of throwing up.

"Naruto-kun," the voice sounded out again but this time he knew it to be coming from Hinata's corpse.

Naruto looked up hesitantly, not sure what to expect. But what he saw was nothing he could have prepared his mind for. The remains of Hinata were moving towards him, as were all the remains of his friends, slowly across the ground in what ever way they could.

All of their eyes though were locked on him, glaring at him accusingly.

"How could you do this to us Naruto, we loved you, cared about you, and yet you butcher us like cattle," Hinata's voice sounded out again, though this time firmer and fuller, forcing Naruto to look towards her slowly moving torso.

"How could you have done this to me, the woman who loved you," Hinata said as a pale hand reached out and grasped Naruto's ankle, "You are nothing but a monster..." Hinata's voice rang out again.

_Drip._

"AHHHHH!" Naruto screamed as his body suddenly sat bolt upright from where it had been laying. His heart pounded in his chest as he placed a hand on it trying to will some sort of calm to his heart through the feeling of his hand.

His body was soaked in sweat and his breathing was heavily labored as he tried to push the images and words out of his mind. But they would not go away at first and it took him several minutes to shake his head clear of thoughts before he looked around and realized where he was.

It wasn't like he needed much of a clue. The dark dank stone passageway with the pipes overhead was more than enough information to tell him where he was.

"_So I'm asleep or unconscious still. Just perfect...," _Naruto grumbled as he stood up from his sitting spot, ignoring the fact that the ground he had been laying on was wet and that his clothes were utterly soaked through somehow.

Then painfully and slowly he started to walk down the corridor towards where he knew they ended. Kyuubi's cell. Surprisingly the walk was not as long as Naruto had dreaded, though even the small few steps he had taken to get there made his body ache all over for some reason. Once he got to the cell though, he managed to walk over to it before turning around and leaning against the center bar with the seal on it. It was there that he slumped to the ground, wincing in pain slightly when his fall was a little more painful than he had imagined.

"**I see you are a bit more awake now**," a dark deep voice echoed from behind Naruto, obviously the Kyuubi's.

"Spare me, I'm too tired and sore at the moment," Naruto replied as he rested his head back against the cool metal and took a deep shaky breath before letting it out in a loud sigh.

"**Either way, it is good to have you out of there. I've been trying to reach you for the better part of four days now.**"

"Four days? How long have I been out?" Naruto asked, more than a little confused but at the same time very nervous as well.

"**A week, give or take a day. But listen kit, you need to remember to not use up so much chakra so fast. I only have so much chakra right now thanks to the stunt we all pulled remember so I can barely keep your body healed when you use all of your own chakra, not to mention your chakra coils still haven't adjusted to the combined levels of what you once had and what your body now has. If you keep going over the edge like that you'll damage your coils beyond even my repair.**"

"I know... but Hinata-chan... she needed me..." Naruto said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"**Naruto...**" Kyuubi growled, sensing Naruto's mood slipping into a place he knew the normally hyperactive blond did not want to be.

"I know Kyuubi... I know. I just... I don't want to loose anyone again. I don't think I could stand loosing any of you a second time."

Naruto's voice was firmer than it had been but Kyuubi could tell he was stressed as well as sad about thinking what had happened to him already.

_Drip._

_Naruto-kun..._

"**Looks like someone is calling you kit,**" Kyuubi said softly and before Naruto could do anything, he was sent back to the realm of consciousness.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X**

It was an odd morning for Sakura as she looked at herself in the mirror thinking. Scratch that, it had been and an odd _week_ for her. The preliminaries had finished about two hours after Naruto had pulled his stunt to save Hinata, which was now one week ago. In those matches, only one of the sound shinobi had passed, all three sand gennin as well, so had Shikamaru and Shino. She had faced her long time rival and friend Ino and had managed to force her to a draw while TenTen had been beaten by one of the sand gennin mercilessly and Lee... That was a fight she thought she would never forget.

**FLASHBACK**

"_Will cough Sabaku no Gaara of the Sand and Rock Lee of the Leaf please come down for their match," Hayate called, his face somewhat distraught from all of the battles that had taken place._

"_Finally, I get my chance," Lee cried out happily, as well as loudly, as he jumped over the edge and landed in the arena._

_Most of the people in the arena cringed at the loudness of his voice, Gaara being one of them as he simply vanished in a blur of sand before reappearing back in the ring, also in a blur of sand._

"_I look forward to our match Gaara-san. May the best shinobi win," Lee said as he took his stance, his left foot placed behind his right. His left arm was held at a ninety degree angle behind his back while his right arm was held out in front of his body, palm up, fingers out, at a forty five degree angle._

_Gaara scowled at Lee as several memories flashed through his head, making his brow furrow more._

_In the stands his siblings and teacher were looking at Gaara with fear as his brow furrowed more. They had all seen him get annoyed before, and almost all the time that happened, the agitating person ended up fed to Gaara's sand._

_Hayate looked between the two a few times, seeing if Gaara respond, but no movement happened other than the boys brow furrowing. He sighed at this before raising his hand in the air._

"_HAJIME!" he called out and slashed his hand through the air before jumping back aways away from the fighters. After all, Gaara's exploits and... violent... tendencies where well known through the shinobi world. Not many lived through them and those that did wished never to have to try and repeat living through them again._

_Lee, seeing no movement from Gaara after the start of the match, decided to make the first move. He rushed in fast, hoping to catch his opponent off guard with his speed as usual, and aimed a powerful punch at his mid section._

_To his horror, sand lept up into the path of his fist and stopped his attack. Gaara's eyes had widened however at seeing a distinct ripple pass through the sand as it absorbed the impact, not to mention the sheer speed of this Lee._

_Once stopped though, the sand started to try and wrap around Lee's arm, who removed it quickly and shook away any sand that had stayed on him. But he would not be daunted by this task. He was a genius of hard work and he would find a way to defeat Gaara. In the blink of an eye he was back in front of Gaara, leg reared back._

"_Konoha Senppu," he called out his attack as his leg snapped forward. To his and Gai's as well as many others shock, the sand kept up with it and blocked the attack._

_But Lee's brow just furrowed in annoyance before he started into a barrage of Taijutsu upon Gaara, with sand blocking every hit._

"_Lee's going to tire himself out if he keep using taijutsu and it looks like its useless against what ever is making that sand block each hit. Shouldn't he get some distance and use a genjutsu or ninjutsu?" Sakura asked out as she watched Lee fight attentively. _

_His moves were graceful and at the same time powerful. That much she could assume from the shocked look on Gaara's face as he tried to move his head around to keep up with looking at Lee._

"_That's because he can't," Gai said off to her side, drawing her attention to the Jounin in a flash._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Lee has always had a problem molding chakra. It is impossible for his body to mold more that what it takes to keep itself alive," Gai said, a few memories of when he had first met Lee flashing before his minds eye. "But even with his inability to use genjutsu or ninjutsu, he focused all of his energy into taijutsu, the one thing he could do. And because of this, he is one of the strongest taijutsu specialists there are."_

_Gai had started his explanation solemnly at first, but by the end he was in his nice guy pose with his thumbs up and the ping of his teeth. Many people just shivered slightly at the sight before turning back to watch Lee try and penetrate the sand and at the same time avoid every attack that the sand sent his way._

_It was at this point though that he was now standing atop the statue with a contemplating look on his face._

"_That sand moves as if its a different entity. And I can't get through at my current speed," Lee thought as he looked over to his sensei who was performing his nice guy pose at him and nodded._

_Lee knew what this meant and a large smile spread across his face._

"_Prepare yourself Gaara-san, for the conditions have been met for me to unleash my power," Lee shouted from his perch exuberantly as he sat down and pulled down his orange leg warmers._

_To many peoples confusion all they saw, especially when Lee stood up, were the leg weights he had taken off with the word Guts written on them._

"_Now i can move much faster!" Lee explained happily as he let the weights fall from his grasp._

"_He has to be kidding if he think that a couple of pounds of weight will bypass Gaara's sand," Temari mumbled to herself and team as she watched the weights fall._

_Then, to everyone's horror and shock, two monstrous clouds of dust erupted from the ground where the weights struck. It cleared quickly and revealed to everyone present two large holes in which the weights could no longer be seen._

"_He was moving that before WITH weights on!" Sakura screamed in her head as she stood in pure awe and shock at Lee._

"_Figure's guy would over do everything," Kakashi thought as he sweat dropped at the sight._

_Then to many peoples growing shock, Lee just blinked out of existence then reappeared right before Gaara slamming his fist into a shield of sand that barely had kept up._

_Gaara's and his teams eyes widened in horror at the speed but couldn't watch long as Lee blinked away from their field of vision again. The only people that were even keeping up with his speed were Kakashi with his Sharingan Eye uncovered, Gai, and the Hokage. Everyone else either just saw the wisps of sand trying to protect Gaara as best they could or a green blur every now and then where the wisps where moving._

_Gaara, for the first time in his life, felt terrified. This person was moving faster than his sand, and even though he had been shown memories of this fight before, seeing it first hand was terrifying none the less. But even as his head snapped from side to side trying to keep up with the green blur of Lee, he was suddenly brought out of his thoughts as he felt a foot slam into his head from above and then from below sending his body flying skywards, though only slightly._

"_So you won't move up will you. Well I'm not done yet!" Lee screamed from now below Gaara as he sent kick after kick, pushing Gaara's body higher and higher into the air, Gaara's sand futilely trying to keep up with him._

_Then at one point Lee's kick faltered as he winced in pain from something and another memory flashed before Gaara's eyes at what would happen next, especially to what was supposed to happen to Lee. Knowing what was about to happen made him even more terrified and just barely was he able to substitute him self for a sand clone and warp underground as Lee's bandages wrapped around his now very scared clone._

"_Ura Renge!" Lee called as he and Gaara started to spin like a top at ridiculous speeds before slamming back into the ground even faster than he was moving before._

_The crater that was left was massive and every gennin with their faces visible were starring at the hole in shock. And if the look from the Spirit team member with her hood down was anything of an indication to her teammates, they were shocked as well._

_Lee, for his part, was standing shakily on his feet a few yards away from the hole breathing heavily as he looked at the prone body of Gaara. To his horror though, it simply started to crack and break apart before it disappeared into sand._

"_A clone? But when did he..." Lee and many others thought until the remembered when Lee had faltered if but for a brief moment._

"_Your power is amazing Lee-san. But this fight is over," Gaara said, his body emerging from the ground covered in sand with a dangerous look in his eye._

"_It is far from over Gaara-san," Lee said but immediately had to start jumping away from Gaara as sand started to assault him. He failed to avoid it a few times and for his failure his body was thrown into the wall hard more than once._

_When Gaara believe Lee had had enough, he stopped his attacks leaving a panting and bruised Lee on his hands and knees at the other side of the stadium._

"_Lee-san, please stop this. You will not win this match," Gaara said, his voice in as best of pleading tone as he could muster._

_His team was floored that Gaara was actually trying to let Lee out of this alive, not to mention he was being, dare they think it, nice._

_Lee from his position looked up to the stand and came eye to eye to Sakura and her awed and shocked expression. He smiled at her look of wonder at him but moved his gaze soon over to Neji, who was looking at him with a bored expression though still interested to see how Lee would do. Then his gaze came to his teacher who nodded again grimly to him, and he sighed as he stood up shakily again._

"_I am sorry Gaara-san, but like I said before, this fight is not yet over," Lee said as he took a different stance than he had before._

_Up in the stands, Kakashi's eye narrowed dangerously as he saw the stance and started to feel surges of chakra pour forth from Lee. He turned to Gai with his angry glare, making the green clad Jounin flinch for a moment before smiling widely at Kakashi._

"_I understand why you might have taught your student the Lotus techniques. But to go this far is insane guy. You could end up having your student killed because of this," Kakashi growled out._

"_He will be fine my rival. Lee has an unnatural ability to open the gates," Gai said still smiling though somewhat sadly as he looked back to Lee who had just finished opening the second gate and chakra was starting to form around him._

"_Gates, sensei?" Sakura asked confused, though she could not turn her head away from the sight of Lee._

"_The body has what are called eight celestial gates. Each of these gates is sealed and regulates the amount of chakra that flow through our body. Any given shinobi can only use however, about ten percent of what their body was built for. This is because of the gates. But if a person can open a gate, they gain a great deal of that ability back for them to use as well an unimaginable power boost form the chakra that comes with it. But this technique is a double edged sword. It may give you great power, but it puts the body under so much strain that it starts to destroy it. So if one where to open all eight gates, they would gain powers that would surpass any Kage, but... it would cost them their lives," Kakashi said still glaring at Gai, "Tell me Gai, how many can he open."_

"_Only five gates at his best," Gai said, his sad look still on his face as he watched the changes start to happen to Lee as he opened the gates._

_By the time he reached the fifth gate, his skin had taken on a brown hue and his eyes had gone white. Chakra was erupting and lashing about his body violently and it even lifted up the stones and floor around him. The effect made him look ten times more powerful than Naruto when he had let loose his chakra and at the same time, Gaara was now very very afraid for his life._

_But in the blink of eye, Gaara's world suddenly started to spin and go black. He felt the impact of the hits upon his body, he felt the pressure of each blow as his flesh contorted only for a moment, but the odd thing was was that he felt no initial pain. He knew it was there, but it would probably take a while for it to register in his head._

_Then, his world suddenly came back into focus as a fist connected hard with his face and a foot with his stomach. Both proceeded to push him down to the ground faster than he had ever thought of possibly moving in his life. With a violent crack he could feel the stone underneath him give way and explode upwards as both he and Lee made contact with the earth again._

_But this time, he did feel the pain. His head had slammed hard into the stone, just as hard as the rest of his body. And boy was just the pain in his head a nightmare. It was making his vision blurry and wavy and at the same time making him very, very nauseous. His breathing was also very ragged and he could feel that his chakra reserves were almost depleted from keeping his Suna no Yorii up for so long. So in a chance that it would help he dropped it, feeling the sand roll off of him like water to join the protective barrier that had moved itself around him now that it had caught up._

_Slowly, and with no mistake of pain, Gaara managed to turn his head to the side where Lee was barely managing to sustain himself on his hands and knees. The green glad teen cough several times, blood spewing form his mouth as his chest heaved in ragged sharp shallow breaths. It was obvious he was in about as much pain as Gaara was, if not more so, but the teen refused to give up. Slowly, and very shakily he managed to push his body back and up to at least be on one knee looking over at Gaara, who was starring at him with a grimace._

_But to Lee's horror, Gaara raised his hand, though shakily and whispered something, the sand suddenly springing to life a moment later. In his current state, Lee could do nothing but try and move. Yet as he stood, a pain unlike any he head ever felt rushed through his entire body forcing him back to his knees but he still tried to move out of the way anyways._

_He made it two feet before the sand caught up with him and started to surround his body. He could feel a pressure start to build and he closed his eyes in anticipation of what was to come. But it never did._

"_Examiner... this cough match... is over," Gaara's voice rang out in the silent arena._

_Lee's eyes opened to stare at a still prone Gaara that was looking at him with pain in his eyes but he still had his hand out stretched._

_Hayate took one look at Gaara then one look at Lee and figured that Gaara, at this present moment in time, could obliterate Lee if he so choose, but he was planning on letting Lee live._

_Up in the stands, Baki, Kankuro, and Temari were floored by what Gaara was doing. He was actually letting one of his enemies live. Gaara didn't let someone who challenged him live ever, period. But here he was, now prone, something that still hadn't registered yet considering they had never seen Gaara hurt this bad ever, and he was willing to let his enemy live._

"_Winner, Sabaku no Gaara," Hayate called out suddenly, snapping everyones attention back to reality and away from their thoughts._

**END FLASHBACK**

"_He did so much, just to prove his worth as a shinobi... just like Naruto does to prove he can become Hokage. And Sasuke-kun... what happened to you..." _ she though as she absentmindedly roamed through the village. It wasn't until she finally stopped and looked around where she was that she realized her feet had taken her to the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

She knew Ino would be inside working, her old friend always seemed to be working when ever Sakura found herself outside the flower store. But more often than not, Sakura would just walk away and think no more of why she was there. But today, she just couldn't help it. Her body seemed to act of its own accord and opened the door to the store before walking in.

"Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower shop, how can i help you to... Sakura?" Ino greeted in her normally cheery voice, though genuinely surprised to see her once friend now rival here.

Sakura just kinda lowered her head to her friend and Ino barely caught the 'hello Ino' that escaped her mouth. Ino stood in shock for a moment before e genuine smile came to her face. She was glad that her old friend had come, and believe it or not, she missed Sakura a lot. The rivalry the two had was something she wished that had never had happened, but she realized that she couldn't change the past. However, she did know that she could at least try and be Sakura's friend once more.

"So what brings you here Sakura?" Ino asked as she moved out from behind the counter to stand beside Sakura who was now trying to distract herself with some lilacs and roses.

"I... I don't know really. I was kinda thinking about my team and Lee-san, and just wound up here," Sakura said, her voice soft and hesitant.

"Well why didn't you say so. I can help you pick out some flowers then so you can take them to them. As a matter of fact I think I'll come along with you," Ino said as she started to look at the flowers intently.

Sakura however was now starring at Ino with an incredulous look. Ino actually wanted to help her.. and was happy about it. This didn't make sense, and Ino could easily sense Sakura's confusion radiating from her.

With a sigh, Ino set down the rose she was inspecting before she turned to Sakura with a smile on her face.

"Look Sakura, I know we haven't seen eye to eye on a lot of things recently. But I want to give our friendship another shot. We shouldn't have let something like a stupid rivalry come between us and for that I want to say I'm sorry," Ino sad, a small smile now on her face and sadness in her eyes.

Sakura was taken back by her old friends words, but she realized exactly what her blond fellow shinobi meant. Their rivalry should not have come between them and she could tell that Ino wanted their friendship back as well.

A small smile quickly adorned Sakura's face as well as she nodded to Ino once before the two of them started to chit chat about what flowers each of the people Sakura had mentioned.

It was about twenty minutes later when Sakura and Ino were walking down the path to the hospital with a few flowers in their hands each. Sakura had three daisies, one for Sasuke, Naruto, and Lee, while Ino had picked a lilac for each of them as well, though not saying why she had chosen her choice of flowers.

"Could you tell us where Lee-san and Sasuke-kun's rooms are please?" Sakura asked the receptionist once they had made it to the hospital.

"Of course, both are on the third floor, rooms 103 and 217 respectively. Is there anything else I could help you young ladies with today?"

"Yes could you tell us where Uzumaki Naruto's room is as well please?" Ino asked before Sakura could.

Both girls were surprised when the receptionist's face turned dark and into what could be called an evil sneer. "That thing is on the fourth floor. Just look for the ANBU guarding its room," she growled out, before turning to attend to her other duties.

Sakura and Ino looked at each other in confusion at the receptionist's attitude towards the normally hyperactive blond before heading towards the third floor first.

"What was that all about?" Ino asked, since she didn't know too much about Naruto aside from the unruly, though hilarious, pranks that he pulled when he was younger.

"I... I don't know. I've never seen anyone act that way to Naruto before," Sakura said, just as confused as her friend.

"Why do you think she acted like that? Do you think she could have been one of the victims of Naruto's pranks?" Ino asked.

"Maybe... but I've never seen anyone that scornful towards him after his pranks," Sakura said as they walked quietly out of the elevator onto the third floor.

They found Lee's room first, and much to their surprise, Gaara was sitting in a chair in the room meditating it looked like, off to the side of Lee's bed.

Both girls squeaked in surprise when his eyes shot open suddenly in a glare before softening greatly.

"I apologize. I am just watching over Lee-san here until he awakens," Gaara said, his voice soft but emotionless.

"Um... that's okay Gaara-san. We just came by to see if Lee was okay," Sakura said, her voice a bit shaky.

She had been told a little after the matches that was a wonder the Gaara hadn't killed Lee prior to the match ending. It came as even more of a shock when she was told that he had killed people for just pissing him off, and that he cared for no one save himself. So for him to be sitting in a room with an ex-opponent, watching over them, was a bit unsettling in her mind.

"Do not worry. I do not wish to kill him. Just speak with him once he has awakened from his wounds," Gaara said before closing his eyes again and going back to meditating.

Ino and Sakura both left a flower for Lee before walking out of the room and almost bolting for Sasuke's room. Being in the same room with Gaara terrified them both to no end and it was just unsettling to even think about being in the same room with someone who could kill you just as soon as look at you.

But to their annoyance, Sasuke wasn't even in his room when they arrived. All they found was a recently made bed with a note resting on it. When the two read it, all it said was, _I've taken Sasuke training for the finals. Hatake Kakashi._

Sakura fumed at this and crumpled the note in her hand as a nurse came through the door. Seeing that Sasuke wasn't in his room she naturally flipped and was looking everywhere for him in the room before Sakura had stopped her, handed her the note, and stomped out of the room, followed by a confused, and slightly scared Ino.

Both girls made it to the fourth finally though once Sakura had vented some steam by stomping around the third floor for several minutes. And to their surprise, the receptionist was right, all they had to do was look for the ANBU standing outside a room. And there were three of them.

"What the... What did Naruto do?" Sakura asked out loud in shock at seeing all three ANBU there guarding Naruto's door.

All three of them knew the two were there and turned slightly to look at the two girls. Both girls flinched a bit under the scrutiny of the three masked shinobi. The flinched even more when the door suddenly opened and the Hokage walked out.

"_What did Naruto do?"_ both girls thought after seeing the Hokage take a long draw on his pipe and then puffing it out slowly.

He was silent for a few moments before he turned and looked over to where Ino and Sakura were standing, their flowers still in their hands.

"I take it you two are here to see Naruto?" Sarutobi asked, his voice sounding as old as his body looked.

Both girls squeaked in surprise at being addressed by the Hokage and bowed deeply as they sounded out in unison, "Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Well you can go in now. He's still out from that stunt he pulled. Just remember to be quiet please and make sure to not disturb Hinata either," Sarutobi said softly as he looked back at the door for a moment.

When he looked back at them he nodded slightly, and the started to walk off in the opposite direction they had come from. Both girls looked at each other again, then back to the ANBU guarding the door then back to each other, then back to the ANBU and finally to the Hokage.

"He said you may go in you know. We aren't going to restrain you for wanting to see your friend," a feminine voice rang out from one of the voices behind the masks. Neither girl be sure where the voice came from so they just bowed to the ANBU and walked into the room. Sakura, however, could have sworn she had heard that voice somewhere before but disregarded it for the time be.

What they saw when they got there though was a crying Hinata holding onto Naruto's hands, her sitting in a chair beside his bed.

"Eh... Hinata-chan? What are you doing here?" Ino asked. She figured that Hinata would be at home or something by now, her wounds healed, and her life back to one of training in the Jyuuken.

Hinata's shoulders stiffened for a moment at hearing Ino's voice but she sat up straight slowly and tried very hard to repress her sobs. It worked after about five minutes and she even managed to wipe away most of her tears as well.

Both girls could see the girl who had had a crush on Naruto for as long as they could remember was saddened greatly for some reason over Naruto. For the life of them they couldn't figure out why.

"Hinata, is everything all right?" Sakura asked as she and Ino came up behind the younger girl and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Na-Naruto-kun hasn't woken up yet," Hinata said between brief sobs and shaky breaths.

Her eyes were clenched tight as Ino and Sakura knelt next to and in front of the distressed girl.

"Hey now, it'll be alright. Naruto has never been able to stay down for long. He'll be back up before you know it," Sakura said in a cheery voice as the memory of how fast Naruto had recovered from the battle on the bridge in Wave Country played through her mind.

At first she thought nothing of it, but then after only one nights rest, she chalked it up to the mystery that was Naruto as to how he had healed so unbelievably fast. But she too, was worried. Not having the hyperactive blond bug her about one thing or another, or even the new more mysterious, though still as happy and hyper as before, was starting to make her worry as well.

But what Hinata said next floored both Ino and Sakura, as well as the fact of what the saw when she opened her eyes as she spoke her words.

"You, don't understand. He... He has every reason to not wake up," Hinata sad softly as she gazed sadly at Naruto's still unconscious form.

Both girls heard her words, and were stunned by them. Naruto was never one to have a reason to just lay down and die, and both of them knew that. But what was more stunning at the moment were Hinata's eyes.

Normally, they were the blank white, pupil less eyes that every Hyuuga had. Most were cold and calculating but Hinata's had always been kinda, caring, and warm. Though she still retained those features clearly, the fact that her eyes were no longer pupil less was astounding the two Kunoichi. In her eyes was a teardrop swirl, very much like the leaf swirl of the Konoha. But these swirls looked more like a drop of water swirling. And both knew what the swirl was, it was the sign of the Hyuuga clan heir. It was Hinata's personal symbol.

"Hi-Hinata, what... what happened to you eyes?" Ino asked shakily, her surprise clearly evident in her voice.

Briefly Hinata looked over at Sakura and Ino and blinked twice. In those two blinks, both girls could see that there was something Hinata did not wish to share. But at the same time, Hinata looked far older than she should. It was as if she had seen eons of time and was a living entity of time itself.

"I-I don't know. I woke up with them like this. It's the reason Hokage-sama has placed ANBU outside our door, among other reasons," Hinata said sadly and lowered her head slightly.

It was then that both Ino and Sakura looked at each other as they finally realized something. Hinata, wasn't stuttering. There was never a time when Hinata talked that she didn't stutter at least a little bit. But now, Hinata was talking like the rest of them, and without her stutter. It was as if she was a whole new woman almost. And both Sakura and Ino couldn't figure out why, nor could they figure out why Hinata was so upset.

But all three girls snapped their head towards the lone male in the room when the suddenly heard a groan emanate throughout the room.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X**

"Ugh... damn fur ball, I'm gonna kill him next time he does something like that," Naruto groaned out as he felt his mind enter back into the conscious realm. Immediately he could tell he was back in the hospital. The overwhelming aroma of sterile and death assaulted his nose, making it crinkle for a moment before he sneezed slightly and sniffed a few times.

However, when he sniffed a few times he caught more scents in the room that weren't normally associated with hospitals. The first smells he caught was the distinct aromas of of a daisy and lilac. They both weren't strong by any means but they were also the only smells that didn't have something else tied to it. The next he caught was what he could only describe as a mild rose. It was soft and alluring but calm and had a scent of confusion attached to it that intrigued him. This lead him to believe that the person was a human, or at least he hopped but he stored that info aside for the moment. The next was one he easily figured out. Sakura blossoms, and he only knew one thing in the world that gave off this particular kind of scent. His teammate Sakura.

The last one though was the oddest one he had ever smelt, but at the same time, he felt more relaxed and calmer smelling this scent. It too was of a lilac smell but it smelt sweeter, and at the same time stronger than the other lilac smell.

But before he could ponder who exactly was in the room, considering he just know noticed that there were at least three people in the room with him, his thoughts were cut off as a presence, for lack of a better word, glomped onto him and held him fiercely before their body started to be racked with sobs and words where whispered out that he couldn't hear.

But this person, whomever it was, was the person that had the lilac scent and made him feel calmer. So, off of natural instinct, he moved his arms to encircle the person, his eyes still closed and hold them closely.

It then took the rest of his thought process and mental function about another minute to process all of this sudden information that had come into his head. And all at once, the information clicked into its appropriate place and he opened his eyes to look at the other two people in the room. He blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing things, then very quickly looked down to the sobbing girl in his arms.

Just seeing the head of hair on her was enough to tell Naruto who he was holding. For no other Hyuuga quite had hair like Hinata's.

"Shh, Hinata, it's alright," Naruto said softly, ignoring the stunned looks of Ino and Sakura for the time be as he sat up still holding the crying Hinata, who only wrapped her arms around him tighter once he sat up.

Gently he stroked the back of her hair with on hand while the other held her back support as she was, in a sense, hugging him to death. All the while he was whispering soft soothing comforting phrases to the distraught Hyuuga and after a few minutes, she finally settled down. Unfortunately though, her crying had somewhat exhausted her and she had fallen asleep in Naruto's embrace.

Naruto sighed softly once he felt her shoulders relax and her breathing even out into the deep breaths off sleep. He gently pulled her closer to him as well as over so that she was more or less sitting asleep in his lap as he held her close.

"So how long have I been out?" Naruto suddenly asked, breaking the silence in the room that had formed once Hinata had fallen asleep.

His voice snapped Ino and Sakura back to reality, though it took them a few more seconds to realize that Naruto was the one speaking. His voice was deeper than either of them remembered it being, but at the same time it was a comforting sound.

"It's been a week exactly since the the matches ended," Sakura managed to say as she starred at Naruto.

Something was definitely different about her teammate. His voice, his actions, hell even his new look that he had suddenly came back from a mission with, a mission that apparently only the Hokage and he knew the details of, and the way he acted now. Everything was completely different. It was as if the teammate she once knew had vanished and been replaced with an older more mature version of himself.

His actions during this entire exam so far had only cemented the fact that something had changed. Naruto had always been a goof ball when it came to take things seriously. He was loud, obnoxious, and even though he had cut down drastically, he was a prankster.

But the Naruto she had seen during the exam... he was calculating, quiet, and didn't speak unless he felt the need. And to be honest, it scared her a little. She couldn't help but think a few times if the Naruto she had known was dead out in the woods somewhere and this was an spy, trying to get inside Konoha.

But after hearing Sakura's words, Naruto just sighed again before looking out at the window for a moment then back to the two still standing and somewhat bewildered kunoichi.

"So why are you two here anyways?" Naruto asked, curious as to why the two were there.

Sakura seemed to stiffen at his voice, his words interrupting her thought process for the time be, but Ino saved her.

"Sakura came by my family's shop earlier to get you, Sasuke, and Lee flowers before coming here to see how all of you were doing. I thought I would tag along and see how all of you were doing as well."

Naruto looked at the two of them sharply and both girls fidgeting in place, feeling odd under his gaze. But it lifted a moment later and was replaced by a happy look with closed eyes and a large grin.

"Then I must say thank you. But could either of you tell me why Hinata-chan is in here as well?"

"She was in here when we came. The Hokage was here a bit before as well and was outside your room with the ANBU when we arrived," Ino stated, a contemplating look suddenly coming across her face.

"Oji-san? Why would he have been here? And why would he have ANBU outside my door. I haven't needed ANBU protection since I was little..." Naruto thought to himself. What he seemed to forget though that he should have kept his thoughts as, just that, thoughts. He had blurted his thoughts out without realizing it and missed entirely the floored expressions of Ino and Sakura.

They both knew Naruto was a troublemaker. It was common knowledge that Naruto got into a lot of trouble when he was little as well. But to need ANBU protection, that was unthinkable. Sure some of his pranks were bad, but non, not even when he defaced the Hokage Monument, were so bad that he needed to be protected.

"They were here because a few people caught wind of your little stunt and thought that you had... infected, as they put it, Hinata-chan here," a voice echoed from the door, making all three gennin turn to see the Hokage back in the room.

"Hokage-sama," Ino and Sakura said in unison as they bowed in respect.

"So more assassination attempts on my life again?" Naruto asked with a tired voice.

Both Sakura and Ino looked incredulously at Naruto again.

"_He has had assassination attempts on him?_" both girls thought, their opinion of the loud blond changing somewhat dramatically in a short time.

"Unfortunately Naruto-kun. However, seeing as how you are awake, I am assuming that you are healed again. As such, there are a few matters I wish to discuss with you at the moment in my office if you would. Namely about your actions at the exam and why I have a very distraught Inuzuka outside my office demanding to see you."

Naruto winced a bit at hearing that. He figured what he had done might have a reaction like this, but he was still unprepared for the repercussion of what he had done exactly.

"Sure Oji-san. Um, Sakura, Ino, sorry to cut this short and all but as you can see, Hokage's orders. Would you mind telling Hinata-chan where I am when she wakes up please?" Naruto asked as he gently shifted Hinata off of him so that she was lying down and softly pried her hands from around his mid section.

"Um, sure," Ino said for the both of them, both of their mental functions seemingly have gone dead for the day.

"Thanks," Naruto said with his big foxy grin.

And for the first time all week, Sakura felt a genuine smile cross her face. It had been a while since she had seen the dopey grin and she was glad to see that the Naruto she knew was still there because no one could copy that grin. She didn't know how she knew that, but she just did.

But then something seemed to click and she had to ask a question.

"Naruto, do you know what happened to Hinata's eyes?" she asked, not realizing that Naruto had somehow got a cloak from somewhere and had put it on.

Naruto though froze the second he heard the question.

Slowly he turned around and looked with a dead serious expression that unnerved her a lot.

"What happened to her eyes?" he asked, his tone very serious but at the same time extremely fearful.

"They um.. have some strange symbol in them now where her pupils should be," Sakura said, not sure how to answer to this now very tense Naruto.

Naruto looked at her for a moment before changing his gaze back to the sleeping form of Hinata.

"Oji-san. Change of plans, Hinata-chan needs to come with us," Naruto said and before anyone could do anything, Naruto vanished from sight, as did Hinata from the bed, leaving two stunned girls and one sighing Hokage behind him.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X**

To say Inuzuka Kiba was angry at the moment would be more than an understatement. He was pissed. No he was _beyond_ pissed. He down right wanted blood. And the persons blood he wanted at the moment was apparently still laid up in the hospital for, if he was told correctly, saving Hinata's life.

Now he knew his teammate loved this blond loudmouthed idiot, but no one, and he meant _no one_, ever messed with an Inuzuka's ninken and got away with it.

**FLASHBACK**

_He had awoken a few hours after his match with Naruto in the hospital, his head slightly bandaged from his impact against the wall. But what he had awoke to was an odd sight. Both his sister and his mother where in the room with him, as was his fathers old dog, Kuromaru. All three of them were having a whispered discussion about something while looking at what ever they were standing over._

"_Ugh, what are you guys doing here?" Kiba groaned out as he sat up. His sides and ribs were sore, probably bruised if his sudden lack of air had anything to say, but he could still manage._

_The three other occupants froze for a moment before turning to him with grievous expressions._

"_Kiba who did this to Akamaru?" Kuromaru growled out, his voice sounding more pissed off than how the two female Inuzuka's looked._

"_What do you mean what happened?" Kiba asked, truly confused._

"_It wasn't until his mother and sister stepped aside and let him see the changes that had happened to Akamaru. To say he was shocked would be speaking mildly._

"_Akamaru!" Kiba cried out as he tried to get out of bed to go to his dog, only to be pushed down by Hana, his sister._

"_Oh no you don't. You're lucky your ribs aren't broken, so don't go trying to move. Now, how did this happen Kiba?" Hana asked softly, though with no mistake of anger in her voice._

_It took a moment before Kiba remembered his fight with Naruto. The image of the blond going through an insanely long list of hand seals, most of which he had never seen before in his life, and the massive chakra build up that had occurred. Then the actual jutsu, whatever it was, that Naruto had done had surrounded Akamaru in chakra, and thats when he saw red._

"_Naruto," he growled out, planning a quick way for him to suddenly beat the hell out of the blond._

**END FLASHBACK**

And it was during this said contemplating time and waiting that he was waiting for an audience with the Hokage. But, to his great annoyance, he was away at the moment, attending to some business within the village. And all of this waiting had only heightened his anger.

"So you are still here Kiba-kun?" a soft old voice suddenly asked behind him making him jump a bit.

He spun and bowed in respect quickly before standing back up.

"I'm sorry to bother you Hokage-sama but I was told by the ANBU at the hospital to come see you about Uzumaki Naruto."

"Hmmmm. This is about your dog Akamaru I presume. Well, come on inside, I'm sure Naruto is already here waiting for us," Sarutobi said before opening the door to his office.

He had to let out a small chuckle at Kiba's now gob smacked expression as well as the sight he saw when he opened the door. Naruto was just standing up from kneeling beside Hinata, whom he had laid on the couch in the office, and was shaking his head slightly.

"So you are here," Sarutobi said as he moved over to his desk, Kiba following him into the room a few seconds later.

But once he saw Naruto, his expression went back to angry and he growled, "What the hell did you do Akamaru?"

"I'll explain in a second Kiba. But first, Oji-san, are the two awake that I brought back?" Naruto asked looking at the old man carefully.

"Yes they are. Both were outside your room guarding you for the time be."

"Good. Can you send for them, Kakashi-sensei, Gai-sensei, and Kurenai-sensei please?" Naruto asked his expression dead serious.

Sarutobi eyed Naruto suspiciously for a moment before he summoned an ANBU and gave them the message to retrieve the parties Naruto had stated.

"What do you want with my sensei gaki, or any of the senseis for that matter?" Kiba growled out again, not liking the fact that he had been blow off so easily by somewhat who was dead last in their class.

"Please, Kiba, just be patient. Akamaru is fine and I can explain the small changes that happened to him when the others get here."

"Fine? You call how Akamaru looks now _fine_? His entire body make up has changed. He doesn't even smell like the same dog anymore so what the hell did you do to my pet and friend!" Kiba shouted, severely pissed off.

Naruto didn't respond though and just glared at Kiba as his stance shifted. To Kiba's horror, his body froze again just like during the match and he couldn't budge a muscle.

"_What is this? How is that he just switches his stance only slightly and my body freezes..."_ Kiba thought quickly. He wanted to punch Naruto, that much was certain, but every part of him at the moment was telling him to run away form the blond. Something just screamed at him that if he didn't run he would die, but he couldn't find it in himself to work up the nerve to even move.

"You will be silent Kiba. I did you and Akamaru a favor so just shut up and sit down," Naruto growled out, his eyes flashing to what Kiba had seen during the matches briefly.

And Kiba just stayed silent at that point, not sure what to make of what had just happened.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X**

It was a long several hours later when Naruto finally left the office of the Hokage. The meeting had been... eventful... to say the least. And as such, it lead him to his current position again on top of the head of the fourth Hokage.

The sun was just setting for the day and Naruto had a lot on his head at the moment as he watched the sky turn into the canvas of colors for the sun. He had explained a lot to the people he had called but at the same time he had left a fair bit out. Most of which he wished to not say anything about to anyone.

"What are you doing all the way out here dobe?" a voice asked behind Naruto, somewhat startling him for a bit from his thought.

But at the same time Naruto's body went on the defensive, his mind figured out who was talking to him and he stood slowly and turned to face the person who was behind him.

Blue high collar shirt, cold obsidian eyes, and spiked black hair.

"Sasuke..." Naruto greeted as he relaxed his body and turned back around to watch what was left of the sunset.

"You didn't answering my question dobe. Why are you out here?"

Naruto though ignored him for the time be as he just watched the sunset silently thinking. It wasn't until Sasuke was about to leave that Naruto spoke.

"Hey Sasuke, can I ask you something?"

Sasuke who had just turned around to leave stopped in his tracks. Naruto had sounded solemn. Naruto was almost never solemn.

"What do you want Naruto?"

What ever he was expecting, it was definitely not was what Naruto asked.

"Why are you so dead set against killing your brother?"

Sasuke's blood went cold at the question. He turned to Naruto with a glare that could kill if it could.

"Why do you care?" Sasuke demanded through clenched teeth.

"It's just... he's that last family member you have left... and you don't even know why he did what he did..." Naruto said as he looked back at the last remaining streaks of color dotted the sky.

"And what the hell would you know about it..." Sasuke growled his anger increasing greatly by the second.

"I do know Sasuke. I do know what it is like to have a family member do something so horrible to you that it ruined your life," Naruto said sadly.

And Sasuke's anger blinked away just like that. Naruto, for all his things, never got sad. It was then that he noticed Naruto crying as he starred into what was left of the setting sun. Naruto has a family. Or at least _had_ by the sound of it.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked, suddenly very curious.

For as long as he remembered, Naruto had always been alone. He under stood what the pain of isolation was, just like him. But, as far as he knew, the blond haired boy had no family. But now he apparently did, and apparently something happened to him that had scarred him as much as Itachi had scarred him.

Naruto just sighed though trying to get all of his thoughts in order, but was having troubles trying to do it.

"Sasuke... why do you hate Itachi so much?"

Sasuke, for the first time in his life, didn't become angered upon hearing his brothers name. He wasn't sure if it was out of his curiosity of what Naruto point was to all of this or if it was from the shock that Naruto knew whom he was talking about when he said he wanted to kill a certain man.

But then he found himself wondering, why did he hate Itachi? He knew he hated him for the life he had left him with. The cold miserable solitude of loneliness without a family to be there for him when he needed them. The fact that he had slaughtered the entire clan, including their own parents was another thing. But, for some reason, those reasons seemed small, as if there was something else that he had hated about his brother that was his soul focus of wanting to kill him.

"I... I don't know..." Sasuke said, his voice barely above a whisper, "I want to say its because of the hell he has made my life. For everything he did to my family."

"Then should I seek to destroy Konoha for all the hardships this village has done to me?"

Sasuke felt his jaw hang open at the question as his mind came to a halt. Naruto had always wanted to become Hokage, so why now did he ask about something that said he wanted to destroy the place he wanted to become Hokage of.

But, being the Uchiha that he was, he saw the underlying question attached to Naruto's main question.

It wasn't so much of, 'did Naruto want to destroy Konoha', it was more of a, 'should you seek vengeance against those that have wronged you?'

"You see Sasuke, my life never was the easiest. You can attest that for yourself. But I don't want to destroy Konoha in the slightest. I want to protect it, to show everyone in this damned village that I'm not the demonic monster all the adults think I am. I've had no family to grow up with, but you have a family left. He may be the one who killed your entire clan, but think Sasuke, there has to be a reason for what he did. Just like there is a reason for what my Otousan did to me. You just have to find it," Naruto sad, his voice dead serious.

Sasuke looked at the blond with a calculating eye at this point. He knew more than what Sasuke had given him credit for, but he couldn't see a flaw int eh blonds reasoning either. And it was that fact that made Sasuke a bit peeved at Naruto. He had always hated Itachi ever since _that_ night. But he had never stopped to think about why his brother had done that. He had only thought about why his brother had left him alive and left that message that had driven him so hard up until his point to grow stronger.

"And one more thing Sasuke. That seal on your neck," Naruto spoke, and Sasuke unconsciously lifted a hand to cover the mark that Orochimaru had given him, "Please don't ever think that you are not strong enough that you have to rely on it. All that seal will bring you is more pain than you can ever image."

And before Sasuke could ask Naruto what he meant, the blond vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Sasuke blinked a few times in surprise at seeing Naruto suddenly vanish and could only look at the spot he had been in for a few moments before his mind caught back up with reality.

"_Something is different about Naruto,"_ Sasuke thought for the hundredth time in the past week as he rubbed the spot with the seal unconsciously as the image of when that chakra had exploded out of Naruto a few days before the exam started flashed before his eyes.

He shook his head clear of this thoughts after a few brief moments before heading back to the Uchiha compound to sleep. Naruto's had stirred up a lot of bad memories for him and he doubted he'd be getting much sleep tonight.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X**

"So you understand the importance of this information?" Sarutobi asked the people in his office.

It had been over an hour since Naruto had left and the only people left in the Hokage's office where Kiba, Kakashi, Kurenai, and the still unconscious Hinata.

Both Jounin, for all that they had seen, had somewhat distraught and uneasy faces at the moment. Kiba, on the other hand, felt like he was going to be sick.

At first when Naruto had called in everyone he had asked for, the first thing Kiba had found out was what Naruto was, or rather what Naruto had sealed with in him. This information, though frightening at first, turned out to make him feel like shit. He had seen how most of the adults had acted towards Naruto and figured it was their dislike of his pranks. But with this new revelation, his opinion of the blond changed almost instantly.

But then came the information of _what _had happened to Akamaru. Kiba had almost lost it then. There was no way it was possible he thought. There was no way that his dog cold possibly be the carrier for the Gobi. But the changes in Akamaru where proof enough, and Kiba had become sick to his stomach thinking that his family had hid this information from him.

And now, after all of the explanations and calming of people down, he had been hit with probably the most devastating news of the night. Hinata, a girl whom he treated like she was his baby sister, was also a Jinchikuri like Naruto, but not of a demon. The very memory of what Naruto has said before leaving sent shivers down Kiba's spine.

**FLASHBACK**

"_So why the hell is Hinata here and not in the hospital?" Kiba demanded, his confusion and anger mixing to a level that was starting to make him see red._

_Naruto though, was kneeling beside Hinata with on of her hands held loosely in his. His posture was calm but his body was ragged. All of the explanations he had had to do where starting to wear him out since they weren't and easy topic for him to bring up._

"_She's like me and Akamaru Kiba," Naruto had said softly._

_Those five words had floored the entire room. No one had expected Naruto to say something like that, especially when it concerned the heir to what was the most prestigious clan in all of Fire Country._

"_Y-You mean... s-she h-h-has a d-demon..." Gai stuttered, his voice suddenly caught in his throat for once._

"_No, what is sealed in her is not a demon. It is a Biju, but believe me, there is no demonic entity resting in her," Naruto said as he gently laid Hinata's hand back onto her body before standing up and facing everyone, who where all starring at him intently._

"_The being that is inside her is the very being that created the Byakugan. It is the very being whose own personal symbol the Hyuuga have used as the symbol for the heir of the main house for ages. And it is the very being, from which the Byakugan derived its name."_

"_And that would be?" Kakashi asked, not sure if he really wanted to hear the answer but still curious none the less. After all, its not every day you learn something about a clan as prestigious as the Hyuuga._

"_Byakkuu herself," Naruto said as sadly as he turned his head back to Hinata._

**END FLSAHBACK**

"Kiba, are you alright?" Kurenai asked softly as she placed a hand on the young Inuzuka's shoulder. He was shaking slightly and was deathly pale.

"I-I'm fine sensei," Kiba said after a few moments of taking deep long breaths, "It's just... It's just a lot to take in all at once."

"It is for all of us Kiba. None of us were really expecting what was said tonight, but we have to be strong and know that no matter what, our friends are still our friends, even after you learn a small bit about their life," Kurenai said as she squatted down to be eye level with Kiba.

"I-I know..." Kiba said as he looked ever to Hinata. He was amazed that she hadn't woken up yet but he figured she must have been told something as well and had passed out from an overload of information.

A lot of things Kiba thought he knew had changed tonight and none of which were things he had ever thought of changing in such dramatic ways. It was in this moment he somewhat envied Hinata. For she was still asleep and had not had to deal with all of the information Naruto had informed them of. She was blissfully asleep and might be for a while longer he thought, while figuring he himself would not be getting much sleep that night at all.

Sarutobi stayed silent though as he watched Kurenai consul Kiba a bit more before the two soon left his office leaving only him, Kakashi and Hinata.

He took a long draw on his pipe before breathing out slowly and looking to Kakashi who was looking intently at Hinata.

"Do you think everything Naruto has said so far is true?" Kakashi asked, still looking at the sleeping girl with his one eye.

"My opinion as an old man says it's hard to say. But as a shinobi and Hokage of this village... I find little doubt in what Naruto-kun says. His actions also support his claims to a few things," Sarutobi said as he leaned back farther into his chair.

"Then we will just have to see what the near future brings," Kakashi said, his head turning to look at the Hokage.

The old man just sighed as he turned to look out the window.

"Yes, we will have to do just that. And we can only hope that the cards are in our favor," Sarutobi said softly as he gazed at the darkened sky outside his office.


	7. Treasures and Reunions

A/N: Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter .. I liked reading them and as a note this chapter is a bit of filler at the moment, HOWEVER, things will be explained more in the next chapter. I kinda had to use this one to set up for a lot of explaining and what not that will take place in the next chapter but, hopefully you like this chapter just as much. And, as always, don't forget to review with your thoughts and ideas ..

The Heavens Curse

Chapter 6: Treasures and Reunions

The sun rose slowly over the Hokage monument the next morning. It's first rays casting a soft light over the sleeping village and creating shadows among the places its tendrils could not reach. Around the still sleepy village very few people stirred at the suns first rays, the only visible movement being from the night patrols that kept the village safe.

Bot for one person, their morning was fitful and unpleasant. They were still asleep, even as a stray bit of light assaulted their eyes, but their dream was unpleasant. They tossed and they turned in their bed, their brow slightly soaked in sweat from their exertion and the dream they were having.

And then all at once, reality slammed back into their mind as they sat bolt upright in their bed breathing heavily. They were disoriented at first before they managed to look around their room and realize where they were.

"Still at home," Uchiha Sasuke mumbled to no one as he tried to rein in the quickly fading memory of his dream. It had been the same one that had woken him up numerous times that night, but try as he might, each time he had woken up, he couldn't remember the dream.

Though he was sure of one thing. The dream somehow had Naruto connected into it, and that was the only thing he could remember.

A few minutes passed as Sasuke got his heart rate back to normal and his breathing to a standard level again. Once he had he got out of his bed and grabbed some clothes as he headed for the shower.

Ten minutes later he was in his usual attire of his white shorts and blue high collared t-shirt that had the Uchiha crest on the back and was standing atop the roof top of his apartment.

The sun had risen a bit further into the air and the village people were now a bit more awake as the early morning shop keepers open their stores and prepared for the day's work ahead.

He stood quietly for a moment looking out over what he could of the village before heading off to Naruto's apartment. To his chagrin, it took him nearly an hour to locate his teammates residence, mostly because anyone he asked just huffed at him and said, "_There's no reason for an Uchiha such as yourself to associate with trash like that."_

The villagers reaction only spurned him more to find the blonds apartment and he was very surprised when he finally found the place. It was in probably the worst part of town for a person to be living on their own. Even one such as Naruto, even though he was a shinobi. But even more surprising was who was waiting for him at the door to Naruto's apartment when he got there.

Kakashi, in his usual kicked back attitude was leaning against the wall next to the door, one foot propped up to keep balance and his arms crossed with one hand holding his infamous little orange Ic_ha Icha Paradise_ book.

"Yo," Kakashi greeted in his usual manner with a small wave of his book and his Smiling Eye before going back to reading.

"Ne, Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here?" Sasuke asked.

"Probably the same reason you are. To talk to Naruto before we head out training," Kakashi said, his eye never leaving his book.

"Then why are you still out here?"

"Oh no reason. I just got here about a minute before yourself as it is and sensed you coming. Figured we might as well kill two birds with one stone," Kakashi stated as he closed his book and placed it back in his pouch before turning to the door.

He knocked rather loudly, figuring Naruto was probably deep asleep from everything yesterday. But his brow furrowed when only after the second knock, the door opened without restraint with an eerie creek.

"That's odd. Naruto never leaves his place unlocked," Kakashi muttered and motion for Sasuke to be on alert as he uncovered his Sharingan.

Instantly he noticed that the door had been pried open, though rather skillfully considering he hadn't noticed it at first. He took out a kunai from his pouch and gently pushed the door open to reveal what was inside.

But inside was pitch black, even for the morning light, and the only light in what they figured was his living room was the brief illumination that the opened door gave them.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked, he too taking out a kunai and following Kakashi's lead.

But Kakashi stayed silent as he took a few careful steps into the blackness followed by Sasuke. They both blinked a few times to let their eyes adjust to the darkness but at the best, even with the Sharingan, all either of them could see were a few outlines in the room scattered here or there.

Sasuke however, managed to find a light switch on the wall and flicked it on before blinking once to readjust his now Sharingan activated eyes, ready for combat.

But the second the light was on, both Sasuke and Kakashi dropped their kunai in horror. Naruto's places was _thrashed_. And not just as if the blond had made and left a large mess. _Someone_ had come into Naruto's apartment and made it look like a hurricane had come through there.

The old worn out couch was torn to shreds, its pillows ripped open and the cushioning torn out. His table was turned over with its legs broken, his two chairs lay in splinters near the table. The refrigerator was open and tipped over, what was left of its contents spread across the room as was all of the trash that was there.

Naruto's mattress was also in the living room torn to shreds, as were what probably remained of the blonds clothes as well. Holes were in the walls and ceiling and the greatest shock of all was that the words 'monster', 'die', and 'go to hell' were painted everywhere and in a large variety of colors.

"What the hell happened here?" Sasuke asked out loud as he took a step forward, only to hear a crunch from stepping on something.

He lifted his foot gingerly and was shocked to see the picture of team seven underneath his foot. The frame it was in was plain and the picture, for the most part was undamaged. Sakura had her friendly smile on, Kakashi with his Smiling Eye, and Sasuke with his arms crossed and a face of indifference. All of those parts of the picture were fine. But the place where Naruto was, or rather his head, looked like it had been stabbed repeatedly as if the picture had been the real Naruto.

"Sweet Kami-sama," Kakashi gasped out as he looked around to see if anything was even remotely still salvageable.

But he could find nothing. It looked as if everything Naruto owned had been destroyed.

"Sasuke," Kakashi suddenly said, snapping Naruto out of his own little stupor at the sight of Naruto's apartment.

He looked at Kakashi, waiting for Kakashi to continue talking.

"Our training today is going to be a bit delayed. We need to go see Hokage-sama and fast," Kakashi said and before Sasuke could respond, he felt a hand on his shoulder and then in a poof of smoke, the two left Naruto's apartment, courtesy of Kakashi.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X**

"I suspect you two understand why you are here?" Sarutobi asked the people in his office.

He was currently sitting in his chair behind his desk, a pile of paperwork adorning the left side, waiting for him to go over it. In front of him were two ANBU.

The first was a man, about Kakashi's height. He wore a black high necked sleeveless shirt than clung to his body tightly. His forearms were wrapped with bandages from just below the elbow to almost the tips of his fingers on his hands. On his hands were the typical styled fingerless gloves with the black metal plate on the back, and on his forearms around the tape was a pair of silvery colored bracers. His pants were the dark black cargo ones, worn by most ANBU and Jounin, as well as having the calves of the pants wrapped around the legs and tucked into a pair of black boots. The only addition to the uniform being the metal shin guards he had on as well.

His mask though was something not seen by ANBU. It was colored a dark blue, with a black wave like swirl circling under each eye and three black marks along the cheeks that looked a lot like gills.

The person next to him, though dressed very similarly, was most assuredly female. This was most obvious because, since her shirt clung so tight to her chest, that is should of a fairly well developed set of breasts that forced Sarutobi to make sure he was looking into the two ANBU's eyes, or where their eyes were since they had their masks on.

And the final noticeable thing on the two was their hair. The man having short spiky brown hair that was similar to Naruto's and the girl's was a long slick black that was done into a tight ponytail behind her head.

"Yes we understand, though I must say I am a bit surp..." the man had started to say but was cut off by a small puff of smoke and the sound of two sets of feet hitting the floor.

"Hokage-sama!" Kakashi called out as the smoke cleared from his entrance, revealing him standing a bit on edge as Sasuke toppled over from loss of balance from the sudden contact with the earth, falling cleaning on his ass.

"Kakashi, as much as I understand you're usual forwardness, I was in the middle of a meeting," Sarutobi said, a little annoyed that the person he had been talking to had been interrupted.

"Gomen, Hokage-sama, but I believe something has happened to Naruto," Kakashi said, worry clearly evident in his voice.

That blew any frustration Sarutobi had away in a heartbeat.

"What do you mean Kakashi?"

"This morning Uchiha Sasuke and I both had stopped by to talk briefly with Naruto but when we knocked on his door, it opened of its own accord. We checked it out cautiously and found the place to be utterly thrashed. And I do mean thrashed. It looked as if everything Naruto owned had been destroyed and... words were painted all over the place as well," Kakashi rambled off quickly.

Sarutobi eyes widened as Kakashi rambled off what had been to Naruto's apartment. But then something clicked in his head.

"And where is Naruto-kun?"

"I... I don't know Hokage-sama. We came straight here to inform you of what happened to his apartment. There wasn't a sign that Naruto had been there but I think he must have at least seen it."

Sarutobi let out a deep sigh as he sank deep into his chair. He suddenly looked very much his age as he closed his eyes thinking before an idea came to him.

"You mean to tell me that brat got his home trashed after all hes done?" the gruff voice of the man said from behind Kakashi catching him a bit off guard. He knew the two were behind him when he had teleported in but he did not expect them to comment on the situation he had just reported.

But along those lines, Kakashi narrowed his eye at the ANBU. Most didn't care to speak about the blond demon vessel and those that did though usually didn't refer to him as a brat. Not to mention both this man and the woman next to him wore mask that were _not_ part of the ANBU chain of command.

"And you would be?" Kakashi asked dangerously, his hand discretely moving towards his kunai pouch.

"I'm hurt Copy-cat Kakashi. Can't you even remember one of your own opponents?" the gruff voice asked out again with obvious amusement lining his words.

"I don't believe we've ever met before," Kakashi said, his anger slightly building. He was worried for Naruto, considering a few of the people he knew to be in town at the moment, and this person seemed to be mocking him and his pupil.

But that voice, it did sound familiar, but he couldn't place where he had heard it. And he hadn't had an opponent since Zabuza when he and his team had gone to Wave Country to escort Tazuna.

That's when something clicked in his head. No one, and he meant _no one,_ had ever called him Copy Cat Kakashi extensively. Mostly because those who had seen his single Sharingan had perished soon after to his hand. But there was one person had had lived, at least for a while, after seeing his Sharingan.

"Y-You can't be... You died.." Kakashi stuttered as he realized who the two people in the room where.

"Blame that gaki that you're so worried about. He's the one that brought us here about two weeks ago," the man said, his voice highly mirthful.

"Kakashi-sensei, who are these guys?" Sasuke asked as he looked to the two ANBU, or rather at the girl. He was enthralled by how she looked, not to mention the way her clothes hugged her figure. She was just about as tall as him, but he could tell from the way she stood, not to mention the obvious ANBU uniform and mask, that this girl was strong.

When the girl looked his way though and caught his eyes, he snapped his head back to face the Hokage, a slight blush adorning his face.

"_What the hell was that! I was ogling her like those girls that follow me around do to me!" _Sasuke seethed in his head, his focus out the Hokage's window, completely forgetting that his sensei had just gone into a stupor at realizing something about these two ANBU.

Sarutobi could not help but chuckle at the sight of the now blushing Sasuke and the dumbfounded Kakashi. Namely cause seeing such reactions on both were rare and seeing both at the same time was nearly impossible. But the simple fact of why Kakashi and Sasuke had suddenly shown up brought his small smile back to a stern look.

He eyed the two ANBU that Kakashi was starring at, noticing their obvious amusement to the matter as well and sighed as he tried to figure out a way to find Naruto.

"I guess, given this recent report, this is as good as test as any. You two," Sarutobi said motioning to the two ANBU, " are to track down Uzumaki Naruto and find out what happened to his residence. And, if possible bring him back. I know he will probably be training, where ever he is, for the final matches that will occur withing the coming weeks. If he wishes to not come back before then, that is alright. But if that does occur, you two are to stay with him to make sure no harm comes to him."

"You seriously think Naruto-kun needs us to help protect him?" the female spoke for the first time. And to say Sarutobi was a little awed by her voice was an understatement. It was a soft and kind voice, somewhat betraying her rather powerful looking figure. But at the same time it was almost serene, and Sarutobi found himself doing a mental check of his blood pressure to keep a few of his more carnal instincts under control. So it was with great amusement that he watched Sasuke's eyes grow a bit wide and his blush deepen considerably.

"No, considering the... changes that have occurred with him I doubt he will need much protecting. But if what Kakashi-san here has said is true, I would like a few extra eyes on the boy to make sure nothing drastic occurs," Sarutobi said.

Kakashi, upon hearing his name and his brain catching up to his thoughts, turned to the Hokage with a a very confused and questioning eye.

"You mean they are to be made Leaf Shinobi?" Kakashi asked incredulously.

"If they succeed in this, yes. If you do not trust my judgment in this matter, let young Sasuke here take a break from his training so that you may accompany them to find Naruto-kun. And once they have, you can come back to me with a report on their talents that you observed as well as bring with you a report of how Naruto is doing?" Sarutobi stated, a little annoyed that Kakashi had doubted him so blatantly.

But even as he spoke, he could see the gears in Kakashi's mind start to turn as he thought upon the matter as the words were spoken.

"I... I will continue with Sasuke's training Hokage-sama," Kakashi said solemnly as he bowed his head. He intended to do just as the Hokage had said but then he remembered why he was training Sasuke one on one. Sabaku no Gaara, container of the Ichibi no Shukaku, and Sasuke's first opponent in the final matches of the Chuunin exam. He had been there to see Lee's spectacle, unlocking enough gates so that his chakra flow could truly be on par with a Kage easily, and yet Gaara had walked away from attacks would, in truth, have killed any normal human.

But Gaara wasn't entirely human, no Jinchuuriki was. They were vessels, people who held back some of the most powerful entities from walking the face of the planet, and with such a responsibility came and enormous power as well as being able to withstand ungodly amounts of injuries. Naruto and Gaara were living proof of that. When most people would have died in such attacks, they had come out alive and managed to pull out wins where normal people would have fallen.

So it was with great interest that Kakashi set to training Sasuke not so much to win, though that would be an honest bonus in his opinion, but to simply stay alive. He had heard of Gaara's fits before, and if his own teams reactions to when he had let Lee live, Gaara had no problems with killing his enemy, though he was still a bit confused as to why Gaara had let Lee live. Never the less, he steeled his resolve and place a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, noticing for the first time Sasuke's extremely tense stance, as well as the blush on his face.

He smiled behind his mask as he figured out why the young Uchiha was blushing before teleporting them away like he had done to get them into the Hokage's office.

Sarutobi sighed a sigh of relief at Kakashi's decision and reaction. He already was developing a rather large headache for various reasons, and the news of Naruto only made it that much worse. Gingerly he sat forward in his chair as he rest his elbows on his desk and massaged his temples.

"So is there any other stipulations you have for us before we do this test to find the brat?" the gruff voice of the man asked again.

Sarutobi looked up at the two masked ANBU once again and could not help but sigh once more.

"No... Just find Naruto-kun. He has had some... disturbing... tales as of late, and I am sure he will be more than happy to see you both recovered so well."

"Oh, and why is that?" the gruff voice asked as he took of his mask to look at the Hokage properly. His lower face was covered from his nose down in bandages and his cold gray eyes leveled with the soft gaze of Sarutobi.

"Because, Zabuza-san, there are few people in this world who can understand what that boy has gone through, and fewer still that understand who he is," Sarutobi said with a resigned tone before dismissing the two.

The two ANBU nodded in understanding of the Hokage before vanishing from his sight all together. This left the Hokage alone in his office with a pile of paperwork and a headache brewing.

Things were most definitely more interesting in Konoha at the moment.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X**

"What's new to report?" the taller of the red cloud cloaked men asked.

Currently the two were sitting at a secluded Tea House in Konoha with the three other shinobi they had entered with. The only person who's face was visible was the womans considering she had gone and removed her hood during the preliminary matches.

"Not much. Uchiha Sasuke has been in and out of the village since the matches, training with Hatake Kakashi. Sabaku no Gaara has been in the hospital with that Rock Lee kid for the past week. And Uzumaki Naruto, well he's been in the hospital up until yesterday," the woman named Sybil said.

"And after he left?" the shorter cloud cloaked man asked.

"He met with the Hokage about something, but judging from the people who went in, it was something important. Probably very disturbing as well considering almost everyone that when in came out looking worse than when they went in. But after that, Uzumaki-san met with the Uchiha and talked briefly, again about something that was important if the chakra spike the Uchiha had was any indication. It was then that he left and we haven't seen him since," the dragon cloaked man know as Katsuhito said, taking a small sip of his tea a few moments later.

"Any idea as to where he might be?" the shorter man asked again.

"My guess is off training. Though with what he displayed during the matches, hes probably ahead of everybody within the matches this year except maybe Sabaku no Gaara," Sybil stated, her brow slightly furrowed as she thought.

"Your thoughts on the matter?" the taller cloud cloaked man asked, motion to the remain cloaked shinobi know as Gracien.

His arms were crossed across his chest, his tea in front of him, barely touched. He had remained quiet since all of them had arrived and had been in the same position for the past hour as they had talked.

With a heavy sigh as he tilted his head up so that he could peer at the people he was talking to through the shroud of darkness that was his hood.

"This Uzumaki Naruto is one of the reasons we had to leave this place in the first place. Though I understand as to why it was that we had to leave, there is something amiss here. Every report we have has said that he has been under taught, neglected, and more or less is a very unskilled and loud mouth shinobi. But what we saw at the matches," Gracien said, pausing for a moment as the sight of Naruto suddenly having eleven different colored forms of chakra swirling around him flashed before his eyes, "he is not the same Naruto that we have studied."

The others couldn't help but nod at his thoughts. They all had seen what Naruto could do during the matches and its just reeked of something that was impossibly beyond what they had been told.

"You know something," Katsuhito said, taking another sip of his cup and drawing the attention of his companions.

"I bet you all of this has something to do with that chakra surge that happened a few days before the exam even started. If memory serves me, there was something similar to that when we arrived here. Do you think it is possible that that event is tied to these changes?" Katsuhito questioned thoughtfully.

"We won't know unless we can find Uzumaki Naruto and question him before things start in motion," the shorter cloud cloaked man stated before raising from his seat and starting to leave.

"And you are going where exactly?" the taller man asked, the other three looking at him expecting and answer from the question.

"I have some family members I wish to visit," the man said, not missing a beat in his walking and was soon out the door.

The other four knew exactly what he meant by it and did not plan to join him. Instead they all looked back at each other, or rather the tall cloud cloaked man looked back to the three, the bell on his hat jingling slightly from the movement.

"Then I guess it is our job to figure out where Uzumaki Naruto is," he said in an amused tone before the four suddenly vanished from their seats. The only traces they had been there was the now empty tea cups and enough money on the table to pay for the drinks.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X**

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Naruto shouted as he looked upon the gates to the Forest of Death.

Beside him was a small bag that he had managed to salvage from his ruined apartment, and resting quietly on top of that was a small kit, just barely about the size of a young cat. The only distinct difference of it between both cats and regular baby foxes being its blood red fur and the small nine tails that were wrapped around it as it slept.

At Naruto's voice though, the kit woke up to a very irate and mumbling Naruto as he glared with a fiery passion at the forest in front of him.

"I don't see what the big deal is. You've been in there before," the kit said, its deep voice betraying its size.

"That's not what the big deal is. This place was in ashes when I found that room the last time and I had not idea it was this place in the first place. If you remember my mind was a bit elsewhere when we were also here last Kyuubi," Naruto growled out as he glared at the kit form of the Kyuubi.

Outward the Kyuubi just yawned at Naruto's reaction before curling back up into its ball atop the bag. Inwardly however, the Kyuubi had flinched at his words. Naruto hadn't been referring to the recent second part of the Chuunin exams, but more so to when they had been here before that. The entire forest had been nothing but stumps and ash then, and it had been Naruto that had made them as such because of his enraged and controlled form.

"Well that is in the past as it is. Kit, you know where the location is so why don't you just quit complaining and head there," Kyuubi's said as he tried to go back to sleep. Naruto had summoned him like he had back in the hospital bu the Kyuubi found that his chakra was at a high enough place where he could easily maintain being summoned as well as continue to regain his chakra. The regaining part though required that he eat and sleep just like any other creature, but he was enjoying it none the less. After all, it wasn't very often that he got to walk around on his own anymore.

"Easier said than done," Naruto grumbled as he looked at the village from the outskirts of the fence line, contemplating how he was going to go into the Forest of Death.

But as he stood there starring, he felt two chakra signatures coming towards him. He recognized them both and couldn't help but smile as they drew closer. But not that far behind them were two other ones he hadn't been expecting, but knew all the same.

"So you two finally came to see me eh?" Naruto asked without looking when he felt the first signatures land behind him.

"Possibly. The old man sent us here to find you and bring you back. Seems your home was ransacked or something," the gruff voice of Zabuza said through his mask.

"Yea I know. I got what I could out of there already," Naruto said, pausing after for a brief moment before turning around and facing the two, "And I have to say, that act you put up before was a damn good one Haku."

A soft giggle emanated from the woman as she removed her mask revealing the pale smiling face of Haku. Zabuza likewise removed his mask and both strapped them to their sides.

"Well, I was trained well Naruto-kun. Zabuza-sama needed me and I was more than willing to help," Haku said with a pleasant smile as she gazed over to Zabuza who wasn't looking at Naruto but at something at his feet. When she turned and looked she gasped at seeing the kit form of the Kyuubi.

"Is that what I think it is?" Zabuza asked nodding to the curled up Kyuubi.

"I am a he you know," Kyuubi's voice echoed through the area heavy annoyance in his tone.

Zabuza paled a bit at the voice and looked at Naruto questioningly, only to see the blond smiling his fox like grin.

"What, Kyuubi wanted some fresh air. Besides, you should be informed of everything by now. Or has Haku left a few things out... again," Naruto said as his looked turned to a deadpanned glare that leveled on Haku.

Haku felt herself shy away a bit from the intensity of the glare before shaking her head and saying, "No Naruto-kun he knows. He suspected as much when he first met me and saw how fast my powers kept enhancing."

"Good, now if Gaara would just stop hiding and join us he could meet a another person like him," Naruto said rather loudly but both Haku and Zabuza had already felt the presence of Gaara not but a few moments ago.

In a swirl of sand Gaara appeared off to the side in between Naruto and the other two. But what caught Naruto off guard was the fact that he was carrying a sleeping Lee on his back and his gourd looked to be just a small sake bottle on his hip at the moment.

"Gaara, why do you have Lee with you?" Naruto asked a bit confused as to why the Sand gennin had the leaf gennin with him.

"I don't know truthfully. We have been discussing... events these past few days and they are surprising to say the least," Gaara said, a sad look in his eye as he looked at Naruto.

"So Shukaku went and explained everything then?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

Gaara nodded before looking over to Haku with a hard look.

"So you are the container for the Hachimata?" Gaara asked bluntly at Haku who justed nodded as Zabuza sighed.

"You know, some of us are a little out of the loop of who people are here," Zabuza said, annoyed as he looked back at Naruto.

"I am Sabaku no Gaara," Gaara said stiffly in response as if it was enough. And in deed it was as Zabuza paled a little bit more.

There were very few who didn't know about Gaara and his destructive behavior. But from all the horror stories he had been told or heard, Gaara was at the moment quiet and composed, as well as to the point.

"Well if we are done chatting here, I have somewhere to be," Naruto said as he squatted down to the bag. "Time to go Kyuubi," Naruto stated and held out his arm. Kyuubi just looked up from his resting place and sighed before scampering up Naruto's arm quickly and then hopping atop his head to rest as Naruto stood back up with the bag in tow.

"You do realize we were sent here to get you right?" Zabuza asked quickly as he saw Naruto getting ready to leave.

"I understand that but I have to go grab a few things out of this god forsaken forest. All of you are more than welcome to come with me considering there are things in here for all of you," Naruto stated as he smirked before jumping over the fence and landing with ease.

Gaara just seemed to grunt before he and Lee vanished in a swirl or sand only to reappear slightly behind the blond with the unconscious taijutsu specialist on his back.

Zabuza just starred at Naruto and Gaara incredulously before looking over to Haku. Haku was already looking at him when he looked over to her and she had a soft smile.

"When he did ask to follow Naruto if he didn't come back and give a report on what he's doing when he gets back," Haku said simply as her smile grew a bit wider as Zabuza sighed.

"Yea, your right. Well, let's go then," Zabuza said resigned before the two jumped over the fence and proceeded after the retreating backs of Naruto, Gaara, and Lee.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X**

"So where exactly are we going Uzumaki-san?" Gaara asked as they walked through the Forest of Death casually.

The small group had been walking for the better part of five hours now. The forest was a lot quieter now that it had been during the second part of the exam, but it still had a sense of foreboding in it.

"Not sure exactly," Naruto said with a cheeky grin over his shoulder, making the other three sweat drop at his answer.

"Maybe we should rest for a moment then and try and figure out our bearings as well as an area for what ever it is you are searching for," Zabuza suggested looking at the smiling blond with annoyance.

He wasn't one that tired easily but considering that they were walking instead of doing the typical shinobi travel, not to mention he had just been told Naruto didn't really know where he was going, his patience was wearing thin.

But Naruto suddenly stopped mid step with his foot raised above the ground and his body stiff.

"We're here," he whispered out.

But before any of them could even try to ask something or why he had suddenly stopped, they felt their world go black as their entire being started to feel as if it was being sucked through a tube.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X**

"Yep... Definitely in the right place..." Naruto groaned out as he stood up from his new position on the ground.

After the feeling of being sucked into and through a tube, Naruto knew he had passed out, as he was sure Gaara, Haku, and Zabuza had. And as such, when they had arrived where they were now, all of them had been unceremoniously dumped onto the ground. The only one who had probably had the softest landing was Lee because Gaara's sand had reacted to shield him from the harsh impact and in turn Gaara's body had acted as extra cushioning for Lee.

But as Naruto stood back up and looked around, he sighed at what he saw. The place they were in was exactly like the hallway in his mind that led to Kyuubi's cell. The only difference was that there was a stone ceiling overhead instead of the mass of pipes.

Torches lined the stone corridor, giving off a faint glow and lighting the hallway just barely.

"Hey Kyuubi," Naruto stated out loud seeing if Kyuubi was awake as well. After a few seconds of no response, Naruto's brow furrowed as he went to check on his friends to wake them up and see if Kyuubi was among them.

To his annoyance, the kit formed Kyuubi wasn't, though there were small paw prints leading down the corridor, and Naruto figured that was the way the Kyuubi had left.

It was only shortly after that that he had managed to wake up all of them, Lee excluded.

"Ugh, you know a little warning would have been nice," Zabuza groaned as he massaged the sides of his temples from his sitting position against the wall as Naruto was checking out Lee to make sure his injuries had not become worse.

"Sorry. The travel wasn't as rough the last time I was here so that feeling of being squeezed through a tube is completely new to me too," Naruto said when he had finished checking Lee over and had moved to life the taijutsu user up to carry him.

However his effort was thwarted as sand wrapped around the young teens body and lifted him into the air, making Naruto suddenly look over to Gaara, whose gourd was now back on his back and was standing with his arms crossed starring down the corridor where the footprints of the Kyuubi went.

"You okay there Gaara?" Naruto asked as he stood up to his full height, Haku following soon after she had checked to see if she was injured before helping Zabuza to his feet as well.

"Something... is apparently different..." Gaara stated. It was still weird for him to be conversing with the demon that for so long had plagued his dreams, turning them into horrific nightmares that threatened to consume his soul. He was slowly getting used to it, though he figured he would be forever unnerved that Shukaku was actually speaking with him in his head.

Naruto's brow furrowed for a moment before looking around the corridor once more. Nothing seemed out of place but he did feel something was wrong. And Kyuubi at the moment was no where to be found.

"Well, let's continue on then, but be cautious about it as well," Naruto stated as he started down the same hallways the Kyuubi's paw prints went down. His walk was calm but tense, relaxed but ready for action and he prepared himself mentally for an assault if that was what was to come.

But only after a few minutes of walking they came across Kyuubi, sitting on his haunches starring up at a pair of large obsidian doors.

"So you finally woke up," Kyuubi's voice rang out without him even turning around. Naruto walked up to the side of him, also looking at the doors as a memory came back to his mind.

It was of these same doors, but the only difference was that the hallway was crumbling around him and the doors had been blasted in by a destructive jutsu he had used.

With a sigh Naruto looked back at the others and said, "Let's go in shall we."

And with that he pushed open the large doors, seemingly effortlessly, though he had had to use chakra to push the doors in as it was.

It only opened enough for the people to walk through and the other side was shrouded in darkness. Naruto and Kyuubi however just walked into the darkness, vanishing amongst the shadows, leaving the other four to just stand there starring apprehensively at the blackness the two had entered.

Haku was the first to gain the fortitude to step into the darkness and was soon followed by Zabuza and Gaara who brought with him the still unconscious Lee carried by his sand.

But not four steps into the room did torches start to come to life in the room. Hundred upon hundred of torches lining what was now a round room and going about a hundred feet into the air.

But what the torches revealed took their breath away.

There were a number of statues in the room placed around each other and all facing towards what looked to be like a large stone altar in the center of the room.

The statues were placed in rings, the out most one being nine statues of different creatures, each giving of a subtle aura of power as if they were alive. The middle ring was also a set of nine statues but of different people holding different weapons. And the final ring was of four people, one stationed at each what must have been the cardinal directions, also with their own personal weapons.

"What is this place?" Zabuza whispered mostly to himself as he looked around to take the place in.

"This chamber is a sacred place of spirits," the voice of Kyuubi suddenly said behind him making him whirl around a bit looking at the ground, expecting to see the kit form. What he saw though were a pair of feet and calves with red plated armor on them.

His head snapped up at the realization of a possible enemy now in front of him and starred at the person in front of him. But his mouth dropped at what he saw.

The person standing in front of him was a man, at least by looks. He had long red hair that went down passed his low back, and he wore a type of red armor that was used by Samurai mostly but at the same time allowed for the same flexibility required of a shinobi. His pants were a dark black and over his armor was a white sleeveless trench coat that had the ends frayed. And on his left hip, tied to his waist with a dark green sash was a long katana.

But the two most distinct traits about this man that set the warning bells off in Zabuza's head his eyes, as well as the nine red fox tails swaying behind him.

"Kyu... Kyuubi..." Zabuza stuttered, his eyes widening in fear at seeing a sudden human incarnation of the great demon. But as that fact registered in his head, his focus snapped back to the statues of the middle ring, seeing an exact replica of the man that was now standing before him.

It was then that he noticed that the entire middle circle of statues all had tails, though they were positioned so that starting from the right and circling clockwise around it went from one to nine tails.

The first statue was a shorty portly man with a large smile on his face and dressed in a similar fashion to that of Buddha. But with resting against his right shoulder was a an obsidian staffed trident with the tree blades atop its head flattened so that they were more blade instead of points.

The second statue was of a beautiful female that was shrouded in a black kimono. She looked to be at a peaceful slumber with her eyes closed and a small smile adorning her lips, but the two Jitte that were adorned on either hip had Zabuza suddenly thinking the woman could probably tear anyone to pieces.

The third statue was one that had him reeling as much as seeing a human Kyuubi. It was an exact statue of Hoshigame Kisame, one of his fellow Seven Shinobi Swordsmen turned missing-nin of Kirigakure like him. And branded on his shoulder was the same sword that had made Kisame infamous, the Samehada.

The fourth person could only be described as a giant. It was a man, easily seven feet tall with muscles the size of Zabuza's head. His clothes were nothing more than what looked to be a pair of deer made shorts and the spike gloves the man ware.

The fifth, and somewhat surprising statue was pushed back somewhat out of the circle of the others and looked to be in between the two circles. But where the other eight statues had one behind them on the outer ring, there were non behind this fifth one. As for the statue it self, it looked to be a lithe man, dressed in what looked like pair of hide made pants and a jacket with no shirt, both of which were lined with a dark gray fur. He also sported a pair of hide made boots and on the outside of each boot, attached to his leg, were wakizahi.

When his gaze fell upon the sixth statue, he had to do a double take and mentally squish down what would have become perverted thoughts. But who could blame him. The sixth statue was of a very voluptuous women who also was scantly clad in a clothes that left little to the imagination. Her devilish smile only made the thoughts that much more carnal, but Zabuza also thought that the elegantly curved and serrated dagger in her hand as well could do just as much 'carnal' damage as his thoughts.

Again Zabuza had to squish his thoughts as his gaze came upon the seventh statue for it was just as voluptuous a woman as the sixth, however this one was more modestly dressed in an elegant kimono. Though the entire appearance was was thrown off by the large mace that rest on her shoulder in much the same way Samehada rested on Kisame's.

The eighth one was another female, though not as exotic as the previous two, she was still stunningly beautiful. She was just simply standing there, a small smile on her lips and a long staff held lightly in her right hand.

"You know its rude to stare so blatantly," the voice of Kyuubi said behind him again getting him to turn around with his eyes still wide.

"But... you... them... what is this place?" Zabuza stammered, completely and utterly shocked.

Kyuubi only smirked at his question before taking a step past him and walking up to the statute of himself, Zabuza's eyes locked onto his movements. It was only just barely that he noticed Haku standing and starring at the eighth statue intently while Gaara was standing in front of the first, the same awed expression on his face that he was sure he had on his own.

"This place is one of sanctuary for us spirits. It is supposed to be the place we rest, and somehow turned into a worshiping site when a few humans found out this place existed. These statues were made by the humans that found this place after we shared out stories with them," Kyuubi said as he reached up and touch his own statues face, not surprised when his hand passed slightly through the cold stones surface.

Zabuza noticed this, as well as the sudden sigh and slumping of shoulders that followed, before Kyuubi turned around to look at him.

"You know, not all of us demons are as bad as you humans believe. We even protected the humans once, back when your race was just starting out into this world. We stayed in the background and watched, only stepping in when we felt it was prudent. But its been so long that most of you humans have forgotten about us entirely." It was here Kyuubi chuckled softly to himself, "Hell there are even a few humans I had the pleasure of meeting that proffered the companionship of demons to those of humans.

"Then why attack Konoha all those years ago?" Zabuza asked, though slightly bewildered at the Kyuubi's last words.

"I have my reasons," was all Kyuubi said before walking over into the center of the room where what looked like a giant stone slab lay.

Zabuza got the hint that Kyuubi didn't wish to speak of it, but followed him none the less into the center. It was as he approached that he started to wonder where Naruto had disappeared to.

"He's fine. He's just grabbing a few items that are sealed away in here. He should be back right about..."

A plume of smoke erupted next to Kyuubi, startling Zabuza a bit and drawing the attention of Haku and Gaara to the center as well.

"...now," Kyuubi finished once the smoke had cleared to reveal Naruto, bag slung over his shoulders. Though everyone now noted that the bag was now filled with something.

"It's odd seeing this place in tact," Naruto said with a sheepish grin as he looked at Kyuubi who just rolled his eyes before looking back to the slab.

His eyes narrowed though before he said, "Naruto, what's different about this."

Naruto turned to look a the slab as well and his eyes widened exponentially. There was what looked like three sticks resting on it, with two different scrolls as well as what looked like a run down katana within a black sheath.

The katana Naruto remembered. It was here the last time he had found this place, though this entire stone slab had been destroyed from the jutsu he had used to break down the doors. But even then he had searched the place extensively and had not found these two particular scrolls or these three stick looking objects.

He gingerly reached out to one of the scrolls, making sure to keep his chakra senses at full alert as well as getting ready to move away if need be. When his hand grasped the scroll, he waited a few seconds, waiting for some response from something but nothing happened. He then gently but quickly pulled the scroll off the slab and waited again. Still, nothing happened.

When he realized that there was probably no threat though, he looked at the scroll no sitting in his hand. His eyes grew wide immediately as he recognized the seal that kept the scroll shut. It wasn't some reinforced chakra one like he had been expecting. Instead it was a simple wax seal, with a swirl, the exact same one of those put onto Konoha's Chuunin and Jounin vests.

"The Yondaime's seal," Naruto breathed out barely able to hold a multitude of emotions back.

"_Had this scroll been here before? Did, I destroy back then?"_ were a few of the questions that suddenly sprang through Naruto's head like wildfire.

But even as his questions grew and grew he found himself opening the scroll anyways, ignoring the slightly shocked faces of his companions and the curious look coming from the Kyuubi.

_Dear Naruto,_

_It must be odd reading this scroll if you have not yet been told of who your parents were. And it will be probably be a bigger surprise learning that I, Kazama Arashi, Yondaime-Hokage, am your father. I know it must be a shock hearing this but it is the truth._

_By now I am sure you have learned of the terrible burden I had to place upon your shoulder's my son. But there was no other way to save the village and make sure that everyone I hold dear to me remained alive. If you are reading this scroll now though, it must mean that Jirayi or Sarutobi has followed my last request and took you to the place where this scroll has been waiting for you. _

_My son, I am so terribly sorry that I must seal the Kyuubi within you and not be there to watch you grow. I wish I could be there when you take your first steps and speak your first words, and be able to hold you when you needed comfort. I can only hope that the people of this village have listened to my last request and seen you as the hero you truly are. But sadly, I don't think that will be the case which makes this choice ever so much harder._

It was here that there were several splotches of ink as well as what must have been tears falling from his face. The marks had made the next line or two smudge and smear to the point of not being readable anymore and Naruto was a bit sad for that, but kept reading.

_I can only pray that you grow up to be strong Naruto, that you know what true strength is and pursue it to its very core. It pains me that I will not be among the living to be one of those precious to you, but I will always be with you my son._

_I must go now though. The Kyuubi is drawing closer and your mother is asleep currently and you for once are asleep in my arms as well. I love you my son, always remember that, and never give up, no matter what it takes._

_Love,_

_Your dad_

_Kazama Arashi_

Naruto couldn't believe what he was reading. His father, the Yondaime-Hokage, had left him a message from before he finally sealed the Kyuubi. Emotions sprang to life within Naruto at a rapid place and he quickly felt as if the place was starting to close in on him.

But when a strong gentle hand placed its hand on his shoulder, he felt his body relax a little and look to the person holding his shoulder. He was met with the saddened eyes of the Kyuubi who only nodded slightly at Naruto.

A small smile appeared on Naruto's lips at that. To most that small nod would have meant nothing, but after having to deal with the sadistic fox, it was as close to the same thing as a hug from a parent that he could get.

So it was with a shaky sigh that he turned back and looked at what remained on the stone slab. The katana, the three wooden sticks, and the final scroll.

"Do you know anything about these sticks and the other scroll?" Naruto asked, not yet wanting to read another scroll at the moment.

"In truth, no. When I was last here, I was getting sealed into you and couldn't see much beyond what your father saw. And the man pretty much didn't remove his sights from you until the sealing was done and by then I couldn't see anything anymore cause of the sealing process," Kyuubi stated as he leaned over and looked closer at the three pieces of wood.

He noticed that they were all varying lengths and made of different wood. But the strangest thing was something his nose picked up. Each piece of wood had a particular scent to them that he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to trust.

"Perhaps that old man would know about what they are?" Zabuza asked. Naruto didn't even turn to regard Zabuza.

Instead he just let out another shaky breath and said, "That would probably be the best solution for a few answers. I have to go see him once we are done here anyways."

Everyone minus Kyuubi was starring at Naruto again once he said that and started to reach, to their surprise, the sword first.

He grasped it around the hilt and in a flash of light, they saw the entire handle and scabbard for the katana change.

Where at first handle looked like an old worn down Samurai's katana, it had changed to something that could only be described as creepy. The handle now looked as if it was made of an obsidian bone and there were small barely visible faint red kanji characters carved into the part that the hand held the sword. But the most dazzling part of the sword was the pommel. It was simply a perfectly spherical blood red ruby that had the bone like substance of the handle wrapped around it in such a way all you could see were the outsides of the jewel. But the amazing part about it was that the jewel was easily twice the size of Zabuza's fist.

Then the sheath, which had also looked worn down, had changed into a material Zabuza could not identify from coloration alone. It had changed from the standard three and half feet long to be about six feet in length, and had straightened somewhat as opposed to to the curve of a katana. But the oddest part was that the sheath looked as if it was the hide of what he believed a snakes would look like. There were a few metal wrappings placed about a foot from where the hand sheath ended and the handle of the sword began, and one of which had a kanji written around a small carving on the sword. Nobody save Naruto and Kyuubi could tell what the Kanji said, but figured it wasn't as important as where the sword had come from itself.

Not to mention, at least in Zabuza's case, how easily but at the same time sloppily Naruto wielded the sword, even with it in its case. He frowned slightly as he watched Naruto pull a small rope from somewhere and tie the sword down across his back with the handle facing his right shoulder so he could grab it if he needed to use it.

But once the sword was secured Naruto again reached out and this time grabbed the three sticks and the scroll in one go, and quickly placed them in bag, not entirely trusting of a trap was somewhere in here that would be sprung on them the second he did that. But even as his body naturaly tensed waiting for some sign of a trap, none came.

So it was with a quiet sigh of relief that he turned back to look at the people who had followed him. Haku and Gaara had awed and deadpanned looks, respectively, as they looked at him and Zabuza was frowning at him or rather at the sword on his back. But it was also then that he noticed Lee still floating in the sand that Gaara had been carrying him in.

A small frown formed upon his own face as he started to walk towards Lee, the other turning to regard what Naruto was looking at so intently. Everyone's eyes widened slightly at forgetting that Lee was even there.

"So why did Shukaku ask to bring Lee here Gaara?" Naruto asked as he walked up to the sleeping form of Lee who was still floating on the bed of sand.

Gaara's brow just furrowed more as his eyes glazed over a bit. It was sadly a tell tale sign of any Jinchuuriki that they were _visiting_ their inner demon. It was only a few seconds but Gaara's eyes soon came back into focus and he scowled ever more so.

"He refuses to tell me why, just that it is important," Gaara said in a deadpanned voice though Naruto could easily pick up on the rather large amount of hidden anger and frustration that was in the words undertone.

"Any thoughts Kyuubi?" Naruto asked looking back to the human form of the great demon. But what he saw made his brow furrow again. Kyuubi wasn't even looking at him or listening. He was starring still at the stone slab with a very rare expression plastered to his face.

One of absolute shock.

"Oi, furball, what the hell are you starring at?" Naruto asked more than a little annoyed about being ignored and walked back to the stone slab. Except when he got there, there was one more ting different about the stone slab.

The top had opened up, probably from him removing all the object that were on the top. But what he saw inside made his body freeze, his mouth hang open and his mind suddenly shut down as he slipped into unconsciousness.

There was a woman laying within the slab, almost as if it were a a tomb of some sort. But the many seals that seemed to have been carved all over the inside of the makeshift sarcophagus were also glowing a soft dark green color, similar to the color of that of the Chakra Scalpels or other healing jutsu. He figured quickly that the seals were there to somehow keep the woman alive, for she most assuredly was with the small rise and falls of her chest.

But the two parts that knocked Naruto out were that first, this woman had a very scary resemblance to one Mitarashi Anko. If it wasn't for the fact that the woman had longer hair and didn't look so peaceful, he would have said they were almost identical twins. But the last part, and the one that had overloaded his brain, was a picture that was grasped withing the womans hands. It was of the woman sitting up in a bed with a smile on her face, though she looked to have just run a marathon, and the Yondaime, who was sitting next to her in his Hokage robes, was grinning like a fool. But within the womans arms, as well as on her lap were two children. The first and oldest child had a small tuft of brown hair and from the small pink clothing, was obviously a girl. The other child, just born from the looks of it, was wrapped in a soft blue blanket and had a very small tuft of yellow hair on his head.

The last conscious thought Naruto had before his brain had shut down was, "_My family."_

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X**

The Hyuuga clan, self proclaimed protectors of Konoha and often referred to as the strongest clan in existence thank to their deadly doujutsu. They were rivaled by few and feared by many. So it was with great confusion that the clan found themselves trying to piece together the sudden changes that had happened in their clans heir, Hyuuga Hinata.

It had been a shock to find that she had been asleep at the Hokage's office last night, especially since most thought she was still in the hospital after her fight at the preliminaries for the final round of the chuunin exam. Bu when they found out that Naruto had been the one to bring her there, most of the Hyuuga had suddenly wanted the demon vessels blood, thinking he had done something to the one who Hyuuga who was the most caring and trustworthy of them all.

So it was with a great shock that many people had come across a fuming Hinata in the training grounds, training like a mad woman. A few people had tried to approach her and ask if she was alright, if the _monster_ child had done anything to her.

Needless to say those Hyuuga that had approached her with those questions soon found themselves on the receiving end of some _very_ painful Jyuuken strikes that usually left their body numb, though still being able to move, and the foreboding feeling that once their bodies were no longer numb, they were going to be in immense pain.

Hinata, for the most part, was rather glad about being approached by the fools. It gave her a way to relieve some of her stress as she thought about a certain blond haired gennin who had suddenly disappeared from Konoha entirely, as well as a few things that had happened once she had been brought back to the Hyuuga compound.

**FLASHBACK**

_Hinata's eyes opened slowly to the sounds of birds chirping, as was usual for her at the Hyuuga compound. But that simple thought had made her shoot up in bed and take in her surroundings in a heartbeat._

_With a sense of relief as well as dread as she realized she was in her own room in her own bed. The memories from the day prior had still been playing through her head at an alarming rate with spectacular clarity, but she now knew._

_She now knew why the villagers treated Naruto with so much distaste, with so much anger, with so much **hate**. And in turn, she couldn't help but feel just as angry and hateful towards them. She now knew Naruto was a Jinchuuriki. She knew that this Naruto's soul had been combined with the one from his future self. And most of all, she knew now that she too was a Jinchuuriki._

_The memories she had seen she understood where not her own, but rather the view of someone else. It was with a small bit of logic that she had come to the conclusion that somehow, Byakkuu had managed to seal away the memories and traits of her future self, and somehow brought all of them out in her now._

_So it had been a complete shock to her somewhat when her father, Hyuuga Hiashi, the Head of the Hyuuga clan, came into her room looking somber and at the same time furious._

"_Ohayo,Otou-san," Hinata said as she bowed her head as best she could form her sitting position in her bed._

"_Ah I see you are awake now Hinata," Hiashi said in an emotionless voice, though his eyes looked her over carefully. There were no differences that he had seen when he had been the one to retrieve Hinata from the Hokage's office, though he had had a few words with the Hokage on exactly why Hinata was in his office and not in the hospital._

_And thus was the focus of his unbinding fury at the moment. Uzumaki Naruto, the demon of Konoha, had taken his daughter to the office of the Sandaime shortly after waking up and discussing a few things with a few jounin. Yet no matter how hard he pressed, the Sandaime would not answer his questions regarding why Naruto was even allowed out of the hospital much less to drag his heir, though said with much contempt, with him._

_All he got was a smile and , "That is something you will have to ask Naruto on your own time Hiashi."_

"_May I help you Otou-san?" Hinata suddenly asked, breaking Hiashi out of his contemplating look to stare at his daughters eyes in shock._

_She had asked the question without a stutter but at the same time with a deadly edge to it that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end a bit. But he controlled his facial expression into one of impassiveness as he looked into his daughters eyes._

_Inwardly he flinched though. He had never seen his daughter so angry before in his entire life. Nor had he seen or suddenly felt the urge to just turn and leave before so strongly since the Kyuubi had attacked._

"_I wish to know why that... thing... removed you from the hospital yesterday," he stated still starring into Hinata's eyes. With a sense of dread he saw those once caring pupil less slightly violet tinted Byakugan eyes change to something that his heart almost stopping in its tracks._

_The symbol of the clan heir suddenly appeared where her pupils would be and the veins on the side of her eyes showed that she had activated her doujutsu._

"_His name is Naruto-kun, Hiashi-sama," Hinata said through clenched teeth in a deadly whisper, making Hiashi, for the first time in a long time forget his composure and stare at his daughter with shock and a little bit of fear. He had never had his daughters address him like the rest of the village did._

"_Naruto-kun is a good person, Hiashi-sama, and he did nothing to me," Hinata said, even though a rather pictuated scene of her own death at the hands of the man she loved floated through her mind, " and I will not have you speak so illy of the one person who is more a hero to this village than this entire clan, not this entire village, combined. And yet you, of all people, Hiashi-sama, with your power over the Byakugan cannot seem to grasp that Naruto-kun is not the Kyuubi no Kitsune."_

_And it was with that and a rather large burst of chakra that Hyuuga Hiashi found himself on his rear end, starring at the now empty bed of his eldest daughter. And for the first time in a very long time, his thoughts started to drift back to those of his late wife, and he started to feel ashamed of how he had been treating and running his family and clan. But even with that, those eyes the Hinata now had disturbed him the most._

"_What have I done to my family?" were his thoughts as he got back to his feet to leave his daughters room to sort his thoughts out._

**ENDFLASHBACK**

And it was that simple memory that Hinata quickly disposed of another clan member who had asked what the demon had done.

Unfortunately for this current person, the memory not only served to make Hinata's strikes drastically more powerful and painful, it also seemed to increase her own overall strength. So it was only after having what he must have assumed as having all of his tenketsu sealed in a manner that they were closed entirely, that he found his arm being grabbed by Hinata who twisted her body and threw the poor hopples clan member flying at the door to the dojo she was in.

Because of the searing pain in his body he couldn't move himself to lessen his impact that would no doubt put him through the door. With a sudden shock though the door opened and he went flying past the prodigy of the Hyuuga clan before slamming into the hard wood floors of the Hyuuga estate, now completely unconscious.

Neji, who was very surprised to see the flying body come from the Dojo he had just felt a large chakra spike come from, peered somewhat hesitantly around the corner. He expected to see Hiashi-sama, or one of the main Hyuuga Guards, considering how easily it seemed the person had been tossed. But to his greatest surprise, he saw a panting but furious looking Hinata, her right arm still stretched out from where she had throw the poor Hyuuga who had questioned her.

"_What the hell?"_ Neji thought incredulously as he looked back at the slightly twitching unconscious form of the Hyuuga and then back to Hinata.

It was on this double take that Hinata finally took notice of Neji and for the first time in Neji's life, she scowled.

Needless to say, he had to use much of his training and a great deal of will to keep his face neutral not suddenly burst out into laughter. Scowling was not something that was becoming of Hinata, not to mention that the normally shy girl had undoubtedly made that one expression, at least for her, adorably cute.

But just as soon as she had scowled at him did she suddenly turn around with a grunt before taking several deep breaths to stop her shaking shoulders.

Neji did one last take at the twitching body that was the Hyuuga before shrugging his shoulders and stepping into the Dojo then closing the door behind him. He did this silently though and when he turned around he saw his little cousin practicing her Jyuuken style upon the mats, completely ignoring the fact that Neji even existed at the moment.

Neji however only stood and watched, his face keyed to look neutral no matter what. But inwardly, he was incredibly amazed. Not even a month ago, Hinata's form with the Hyuuga Taijutsu was haphazard at best. But now, she was moving with a grace that suited her body well as well as she went through the fluid strokes of the Jyuuken. Even her eyes were closed as she did this, though the veins bulging on the side of her head told him she had her Jujutsu's activated, meaning she knew he was still there.

This continued for nearly twenty minutes, with each moment and move, Hinata's flow and grace becoming more pronounced and perfect. The room was dead silent then, until someone broke that silence with a knock on the door, which not only interrupted the silence of the room but also Neji's thought patterns and Hinata's concentration.

"Enter," Hinata all but growled out, more than frustrated with having been annoyed by her own clan for the entire day as is. Her back was to the door but her bloodline was still activated and it was a small surprise that her younger sister, Hanabi, stepped through the door with her own scowl, glaring daggers at Hinata's back.

"May I help you Imouto-Chan?" Hinata asked, her voice still harsh but a lot softer than when she had growled out when she had heard the knock on the door.

Hanabi was just as much taken aback as Neji at Hinata's tone of voice, both entirely too used to having a stuttering and shy Hinata who would shy away from almost anyone and would never truly look a person in the eye, or even growl at them for that matter.

But it was only a few seconds before both regained composure and Hanabi responded, "Otou-san asked me to come find you."

Both Neji and Hanabi were a bit confused as they watched Hinata tense for a moment before visibly relaxing her shoulders.

"Well you have found me Imouto-chan, your task is complete," Hinata stated calmly before taking up her Jyuuken stance once again.

Both Hanabi's and Neji's mouths hung open at this point. When Hiashi sent someone to find anyone, it was _always_ a summons for that person to come see him. And Hinata had _never_ refused to see her father. But here she was, completely ignoring her own summons and not only that, but she was training again as well.

Neji was the first to regain his composure and schooled his face into one of neutrality again as he tried to piece together this new Hinata he was seeing.

"_What could have changed her this much in only a few weeks?"_ he thought as he thought back to the preliminaries.

He remembered how fearful she had been going into the match versus him. And he remembered her gaining confidence after realizing something. Then he remembered the flat out determination he saw in her eyes after...

"_Could that pest really have done this?"_ Neji thought as he watched silently. After all, Main branch affairs were never interrupted by a branch member.

Hanabi, however, was in no such situation. She had been sent by Hiashi to bring Hinata to his office, but she had clearly refused to do so. Hanabi toyed with the idea for a moment that she could force her sister to come by force, but if the still unconscious body of the Hyuuga outside the Dojo door, as well as the grace of the Jyuuken that Hinata was now displaying, than she had little doubt that she could no longer beat her sister into submission.

"Otou-san wishes to see you One-chan," Hanabi finally managed to say after much thought.

In mid strike, Hinata's body froze. The sudden anger that radiated off of her was almost palpable, and both Neji and Hanabi were once again at a loss for Hinata's actions.

But it was with a resigned sigh and a slump of the shoulders that Hinata stood back to a neutral stance before turning around to look at her sister. Her look was fierce and the younger girl suddenly felt, for the first time, scared of her sister. Hinata seemed to notice this though and her expression softened to that of a sad smile.

"Sorry for frightening you," Hinata said softly before starting to walk towards the dojo door.

Hanabi could almost swear she could feel her mouth on the floor as she watched her sister depart in shock. This was not the Hinata that she knew. This girl, no... woman, that had just left her and Neji standing there, both starring at her in shock as she walked off, was most assuredly _not_ the same Hinata they knew.

Hinata, the second she was out the door and had closed it let out a shaky breath she had been holding in. All of the memories that were still rushing through her head at the moment had left her emotions in an uproar and the fools who had been bugging her hadn't been helping. Neji's arrival had not helped at all either. She knew her cousin still resented her, even as memories of him caring for her as if she was his true blooded sister flashed through her eyes.

And the look Hanabi had on her face when she turned around made her chest ache painfully. She did not wish to see such a look of fear from someone she cared so deeply about. Hanabi was after all the only living thing left of her mother besides herself.

Hinata shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts as she crossed over the front lawn of the Hyuuga Estate. She was, after all, going to see someone whom she'd rather prefer to punch that speak with.

But a cry of 'HALT' from the front gates as she passed stopped her in her tracks to see what was going on.

What she were two ANBU shinobi being stopped by about four Hyuuga guards who watched over the front gate of the estate. One of the ANBU was a woman, who had a black duffel bag slung over her back and what looked to be an unconscious woman with purple hair in her arms. The other ANBU, a man, was carrying someone as well but she could not see for the Hyuuga guards had surrounded him slightly and cut off her sight of everything but the top of the mans head, considering he was a fair bit taller than the guards.

"Move out of my way worms," Hinata heard the male ANBU growl out.

"Sure, we'll move the second you let us deal with that trash in your arms," one guard said, his voice dripping with venom as he motioned to what ever it was the ANBU was carrying.

"You touch this kid and I will personally remove your head from your shoulders, now move," the ANBU growled again as a _VERY_ large sword came to life on his back with a poof of smoke and one of his hands moved to grab it while adjusting what he was carrying to the other hand.

"That demon needs to be dealt with. Leave it here and you can go," another guard said as the four guards slid into the Jyuuken stance. It was only after the four had adjust their positions to be a bit lower that Hinata got a glimpse of blond hair within the ANBU's arms.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata screamed the second she realized who the ANBU was carrying.

Her cry shocked the guards out of their stances as they suddenly gazed back at her, all holding a great deal of contempt in their eyes.

"Hinata-sama, you shouldn't be here," one of the guards said as he moved to stand in Hinata's path as she ran to where the small group was.

"You will get away from Naruto-kun right now," Hinata growled out as she formed a seal and activated her Byakugan.

The guards, being branch house members, stared in shock at the Hyuuga-heiress. She had always been the nicest of the Main House members, and had never even once thought of using the seal to activate the Caged Bird Seal that was placed onto all Branch members. Add the fact that at the moment, her... exploits of the day within the Dojo she had been in had spread like wildfire, and the fact that they were entirely confused as to why she also now had pupils with her doujutsu activated, made for some very frightened Hyuuga.

Seeing that non of the guards had moved, and were now looking at her in worry and shock, she only glared a bit more.

"I do not wish anyone to be harmed. But so help me so much as think about touching Naruto-kun, I will not hesitate to activate your seals. Now MOVE," she said in a deadly tone and yelled the last part.

The guards didn't need to be told twice and bolted for the estate in fear. The second they had left though, Hinata was at the ANBU's side, removing Naruto from his grasp and laying him on the ground with his head in her lap.

"What's wrong with him?" Hinata asked as she stroked his hair slightly. Naruto's brow was furrowed in his unconsciousness and there was a decent amount of sweat streaking his face as well.

"No idea. He took one look at the woman there then passed out. We are taking him to the hospital and then notifying the Hokage," the ANBU stated, realizing that this girl was the same one that had been in the office of the Hokage when he had first arrived.

"Then we should get him there," Hinata said as she stood, while trying to lift Naruto as well, though found it harder since he seemed to weigh a ton. The ANBU let out a small chuckle before lifting the unconscious blond up into his own arms before looking back to a now squirming Hinata.

"You can come with us if you are that worried about him," the ANBU said before nodding to the woman ANBU and taking off.

Hinata didn't need to be asked twice and followed just as quickly, completely forgetting the fact that her father had asked for her presence.


	8. Memories

A/N: Wow... this ins one long chapter . ;; Anyways, tried to explain as much as I could but ran into a bit of lack of idea's on clarification of things. Hopefully I will be able to give some more clarifications in the next chapter. Either way, hope you like the chapter and as always read and review (.) 

The Heavens Curse

Chapter 7: Memories

Kiba was not having the best of days as he straddled a chair with his arms resting on the back, his head resting on his arms as his eyes gazed at his still unconscious companion. Akamaru had been unconscious ever since the exams and what Naruto had done, and Kiba still had so many questions he still had. At the forefront of which were a bunch of whys.

Why hadn't his family informed of the tenant that resided in Akamaru? Why hadn't his family told him the second he had woken up? How was it that Naruto, the supposed dead last of his graduating class, was able to even do this?

With a deep sigh he shook his head trying to discard his thoughts for the time be as he realigned his sight with Akamaru. This was truly the first time he had actually sat to take in all the changes of his pet and friend.

His changes were definitely odd to him to the say the least. Akamaru had grown a little from the changes, that much was the more subtle of changes. But everything else baffled him. The once white fur had taken on a dark purplish hue over most of the dogs body. Akamaru's head however, had lost the floppy ears he once had and had been replaced with more wolfish ones on top of his head, not to mention his entire head structure seemed to have change to look like more of a wolf as well. The mane surrounding his head had puffed out a bit and turned a dark gray, also with a bit of a purple hue to it, and the tail as well had puffed out like the mane and had the same coloration. And even Akamaru's eyes had changed, him only knowing this when he had tried to stir his sleeping pet. The eyes were now a bright amber color.

Kiba couldn't help but sigh again as he looked at his pet one last time before standing up and grabbing his jacket. He had to meet with his team after all soon and he didn't want to be late. As he walked out of his house, he could not help but scowl as he passed the living room, where his mother and sister were sitting and talking.

He had yet to confront them on what had happened to Akamaru, not really trusting his own actions in the matter so he decided to keep quiet until he could make sure his temper wouldn't get the best of him.

He was out the door and almost the Inuzuka gates when he heard a gruff voice call his name from behind. He stopped and turned slightly to see Kuromaru, his late fathers dog starring at him intently.

"What do you want Kuromaru?" Kiba demanded, clearly annoyed at being stopped and not really wanting to talk.

"You've been told about whats wrong with the pup haven't you? As well as why it is that the majority of this village detests the blond boy?" the fierce looking dog demanded back.

"And why should you care. You've never shown an interest in either of them before," Kiba said fiercely, his anger already on the rise.

"Just don't make the same stupid mistake this village made," Kuromaru said with a fierce glare before turning around and walking back towards the kennels where most of the Inuzuka ninken where kept.

Kiba only blinked in surprise at the dogs words before turning and leaving the estate. He decided he would try and figure the old dogs words out later when he would try to figure everything else out. Sighing he started to rub his temples, he had a feeling today was going to be giving him the mother of all headaches.

And mentally wanted to slap himself for even thinking that for a not a few moments later did he see two ANBU, each carrying unconscious people, one he distinctly recognized as Naruto, and Hinata trailing after them.

"_What the hell?"_ Kiba thought as he chased after his teammate, suddenly very concerned about why Naruto was being carried by ANBU and why Hinata was following them.

It was only a few minutes later that they arrived at the hospital and the ANBU, Kiba suddenly realizing that both ANBU had their masks off, demanded that two stretchers be brought in immediately as well as two doctors to look after the two unconscious people.

One was brought out quickly for the woman in the female ANBU's arms and she was wheeled off quickly, but a nurse that was bringing another took one look at the unconscious Naruto before sneering and saying, "That thing is fine. That demon doesn't need any help."

The woman gasped in shock though as she was suddenly staring at the end of a very large sword, held by a very pissed off ANBU standing in front of her.

"You will take care of this boy with same care as you took that woman or I will make you experience the reason I am called a Demon as well," the male ANBU said, his voice seemingly dropping the temperature of the room. The woman only gulped in fear of her own life before she took Naruto from the ANBU's arms and wheeled him off on the stretcher after the unconscious woman.

"Hey Hinata, what's going on?" Kiba asked as he walked up behind the Hyuuga Heiress. The poor girl 'eeped' in shock as she twirled around and held a hand to her chest as she tried to get her heart to stop beating so fast.

When she saw it was only Kiba though, her heart beat manage to subside a little as she took a few deep breaths.

"I don't know exactly. All I know is that these two ANBU were bringing Naruto and that woman to the hospital when the guards outside my clans complex stopped them and tried to kill Naruto. I..." and it was hear she shook slightly from revulsion at having to go against her nature and threaten the guards with pain, and possible death, "I managed to get them to leave without any harm becoming anyone. After that, I helped the ANBU bring Naruto here."

Kiba, for all his glory as a scion of the Inuzuka Clan, could not help but have his mouth hang open. Hinata had said every word of what had happened without stuttering, not to mention she had also been looking at the doors that Naruto had just been wheeled through as well the entire time. Again Kiba shook his head in an attempt to get his thoughts in order as his eyes shifted back to the ANBU.

Curiousty got the better of him as he asked, "Aren't you ANBU supposed to wear your masks at all times?"

The man turned to look directly into Kiba's eyes and chuckled darkly as he watched the boy flinch away from the intensity of his stare.

"For ANBU yes, but I'm not exactly your run of the mill black ops kid. Anyways, I have to go report to the Hokage that Naruto is back in the village and safe, at least for the time be. Haku," the male said, and the female ANBU coming up to him from her position near the doors that the two patients had been wheeled through.

"Yes Zabuza-sama?" the woman asked, and Kiba, the second he took one look at her figure turned away with a deep blush on his face. The woman whom he hadn't taken a whole lot of time to look at was quite frankly, and in the simplest words Kiba could think of, was hot as hell.

Haku saw Kiba's reaction and only smiled softly at the rather amusing seen.

"You stay here with these two and make sure nothing happens to the brat. Those other two should already be back by now as well considering they left without anyone noticing so they should be fine," the male ANBU, now identified to Hinata and Kiba as Zabuza, said before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

Haku only sighed softly before starting to walk back towards the doors she had been standing at and motioning for the two to follow her. Hinata followed without question while Kiba was rooted to the spot trying to get his mind up with everything that had just happened within the span of a few minutes.

With a resigned sigh he followed after the two girls, not entirely sure as to why he was following them and not trying to bring Hinata with him to their practice grounds.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&**

In the Hokage's office, Sarutobi let out a small sigh as he looked at the stack of papers that were on on his desk. He had the nagging feeling that no matter how hard he worked or how fast he managed to go through the paperwork, the stack was somehow growing. Curious, he pulled out a tape measure from his desk and started to measure the height of the stack of papers.

That was how Zabuza found the Hokage, mumbling to himself as he measured the papers on his desk.

It was only after the Hokage mumbled something about the stack being a half an inch taller than yesterday that Zabuza coughed to get the old man's attention.

He could only sweat drop as the Hokage spun around quickly, hiding the measuring tape behind his back and smiled warmly at the ex- hidden mist ninja.

"Aw, Zabuza-san, what do you have to report?" the Hokage asked with his usual smile as he managed to hide the measuring tape within on of the sleeves of his robs so that he could walk back around to his chair and take a seat.

Zabuza only coughed slightly before looking directly at the hokage.

"We found the brat and he's safely back in the village," Zabuza stated. He cut his speech of there and continued to stare at the still smiling Sarutobi.

"And? How did he come back to to be in the village?" the Hokage asked. He remembered on more than one occasion when Naruto was younger that he would stay out in the woods just outside Konoha for hours at a time, and a few times even a few days, before he felt it was safe to come back to his apartment. Back then the Hokage had no idea as to why Naruto would want to sleep outside and away from his own little sanctuary, but after hearing the report from Kakashi about Naruto's abode, not to mention he himself going over to see exactly what was done, he had a very good idea as to why.

"I had to bring him back," Zabuza started and then informed the Hokage of everything from the point of his meeting up with Naruto to the strange chamber they had found the statues in, to Naruto seeing the woman and suddenly passing out.

Throughout the report though, Sarutobi's eyes kept getting wider and wider as the color in his old face kept going whiter and whiter. Mentally he was kicking his own ass for he was only just now remembering that such a chamber existed. And Zabuza saw this reaction quite clearly as well, even with him leaving out the fact that Naruto had gathered a few things in the chamber that had yet to be seen, as well as the two scrolls, three sticks, and the very odd sword he had picked up as well. He even left out the fact that Kyuubi had seemingly manifested himself in what had to have been his corporeal human form and had even spoken with Zabuza about a few things.

He didn't know why he held these things back but he felt that it might be best if he didn't mention them and let Naruto explain. That and the fact he was willing to bet that Naruto had wanted to explain everything to the Hokage himself in the first place.

When Zabuza was done stating his report, the final part being where he left Hinata, Kiba, and Haku to watch over Naruto and the woman until things could be sorted out, Sarutobi had pretty much lost all color in his face.

"Sweet Kami-sama... what have I done in forgetting about the very chamber where the Kyuubi was sealed inside Naruto," the hokage whispered softly, Zabuza having to strain his ears to even hear the old man as he slouch back against his chair.

Sarutobi suddenly felt very, very old as a few memories came back to him. They were mostly of Arashi as he gave his last words, standing over a stone slab that help a newly born Naruto on it, performing a long series of seals with tears streaming down his face as he kept asking for what ever god there was out there to watch over Naruto.

"Hokage-sama?" Zabuza called out quietly seeing how distressed the old man now seemed.

Sarutobi could only take a deep breath and let a long sigh as rubbed this bridge of his nose with on hand.

It was silent for a few more minutes before the Hokage stood slowly and put his hat back on his head before walking towards Zabuza.

"We should go see the boy and the woman and make sure they are safe and comfortable," Sarutobi said softly as he passed and kept walking out of his office, Zabuza following behind him with a concerned expression showing in his eyes as he fixed his ANBU mask back on.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&**

"**_Kit..._**"

"_Ugh... who the hell is that..."_

"_**Kit... Kit can... me**"_

"_The hell... who's calling me..."_

"_**Kit... need to... up...**"_

"_What... Kyuubi..."_

"_Naruto..."_

"Ugh... okay who the hell is calling me?" Naruto growled out as he opened his eyes, only to be greeted with an endless blackness.

"_What the hell? Where am I? This isn't my mind scape, and why the hell can't I hear Kyuubi clearly?"_ Naruto thought as he looked around.

"_... demon..."_ a flicker of a voice whispered behind him.

Naruto spun on his heels quickly to confront who had called him a demon, but no one was there.

"Grrr... Show your self you ass hole," Naruto screamed out in anger and frustration. His only response was the echo of his own words.

"**_Kit... wake... need..."_**

"What... Kyuubi? Kyuubi is that you?" Naruto called out, his head starting to feel light as an unknown pressure started to build within it. It made him woozy and sick all the same time.

"**_DEMON!"_** a dark deep voice suddenly growled out from seemingly all around him.

The word itself had no effect on Naruto, but whoever was speaking the word, their voice sent Naruto crashing to the ground in the fetal position, his head suddenly splitting in pain as he grasped it, trying to make it go away.

"_What the hell is happening to me?"_ Naruto thought, trying to think of anything that had caused him this sudden oddity. But the pain in his head only intensified as he tried to think.

"**_NARUTO!!"_ **Naruto heard the Kyuubi's voice call out in crystal clarity, but also laced with fear as the voice also seemed to change in pitches and deepness several hundreds of times in the span of a few seconds.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" Naruto screamed as his body and head were suddenly racked with more pain as the Kyuubi called his name.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&**

Zabuza and Sarutobi were just outside of the room that held Naruto and the woman when the suddenly felt a large chakra spike come from inside the room. Instinct alone saved them from being crushed by the sudden explosive force of chakra that ripped the door from its hinges and slammed it into the opposing wall with unbridled fury.

Zabuza and Sarutobi were withing the room in an instant. What they saw confused the two of them greatly.

Hinata, Kiba, and Haku were unconscious around Naruto's bed, the woman whom was in a bed adjacent to Naruto's still unconscious for unknown reasons, now a pained look to her face and the oddest thing was what was now hovering over a thrashing Naruto's bed.

There were ten scrolls, each seemingly burning a different color as the twirled and hover around Naruto's bed. The two men also took notice of the shredded bag on the floor next to the bed. It didn't look like some one had shredded it trying to get in, but rather out. And laying next to it were the three sticks and a few other scrolls.

But even with all of this, the two found themselves unable to move anymore after having stepping in only a few feet.

"_What's going on, I can't move my body,"_ Zabuza panicked, never before not being able to move anything, not even his own eyes.

It was then that the three hooded figures from the preliminaries appeared, at least to Zabuza and the Hoakge, out of thin air near the window of the room. All three managed to take only two steps before becoming frozen in much the same way they were.

"_What are they doing here? Do they wish Naruto harm?"_ Sarutobi was thinking as he watched the three try and fight against what ever force was now holding them back. It was a wonder to him that his ANBU forces hadn't even shown up yet to see what was going on.

After what seemed like an eternity though he finally was able to move his head through sheer force of will to the right slightly to see Naruto. What he saw shocked him to the core.

Naruto was changing, or at least flashes of changes kept flickering in and out around him his body twitched this way and that, his hands clutching his head as he thrashed. What was once his normal clothes of almost an ANBU were changing entirely.

His shirt became a blood red tucked into a pair of similar black pants that he had on now. Only the ones that were flickering seemed to be torn near the hem as were what looked to be a pair of worn out old black boots. Then their was the dark forest green sleeveless trench coat that was there as well, the bottom looking as worn out as a flag flapping in the wind for hundreds of years. And to top everything off, the form that kept flickering seemed to be about a foot and half taller than the Naruto he was seeing now.

But even as he starred he caught movement out of the corned of his eye as the three sticks floated into the air as well, before zooming over to the cloaked figures and them grasping them tightly. It was only then that another memory came back to the old man and his eyes opened in shock at realization as to who these three people where.

But he still could not do or say anything, he could no longer move even, and the latter part bugged him the most seeing as how the three, after taking possession of the sticks, suddenly became free to move as they pleased.

The tallest of them, the one with the black and emerald phoenix embroidered into the back of his cloak walked quickly up to Naruto. He pointed the stick at Naruto for only a moment before a whispered word escaped the concealed confines of the persons hood.

Sarutobi couldn't be sure for certain but he could have sworn the words he had heard were, "_Leglimense."_

And not a second after the words escaped the mans mouth, did a white light suddenly erupt from the stick and dive at Naruto. Sarutobi could only watch in horror as the light rushed towards the still thrashing blond, but he was not prepared, nor was anyone he would reason later, for what happened next.

The light struck what looked like a flick of dark blue chakra and everything had seemed to stop for only a moment. Time seemed to slow down for everyone, even a small fly as its wings, normally abuzz with life, were slowed to be barely enough to keep it aloft.

For the second that white light hit that whisps of chakra, what could only be described as a backlash of power erupted out of a Naruto in a thunderous scream that escaped his lips. Sarutobi, Zabuza, and the three figures were thrown violently back into the walls of the room, each of them falling unconscious immediately from the sheer force of chakra that had erupted out of Naruto.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&**

Every person in Konoha stopped in their tracks as the sound of someone scream entered their ears. No one had any idea as to who was screaming or why, but from the sound and sheer volume, they could tell someone was in great pain. Needless to say, no one was ready for the shock wave of chakra that swept throughout the entire village in an angry flash, forcing everyone into unconsciousness somehow under its sheer power alone.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&**

Just outside the walls of Konoha, a certain white haired man stood atop a branch of a tree gazing from a distant at his long departed home when he heard the scream reach his ears as if the person was right next to him.

"What the hell is that?" he muttered to himself as he jumped down from the tree.

He only sensed the chakra shock wave a moment before his feet touched the ground, and even then, he was still unprepared for the force of it as it sent him carrening headfirst into the very tree he had just departed, knocking him out cold.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&**

Farther away from Konoha, out in the woods somewhere in Fire Country a certain blond haired woman and her companions snapped their heads in the direction an echoing scream had come from that reached their ears clearly.

"Where do you suppose that came from?" the companion of the blond woman asked quietly.

"...Konoha..." the blond woman whispered out, not entirely sure how she knew the answer, but not having time to react either as a force of chakra the likes of which she had never felt before slammed into and through her and her companion, clonking their heads together painfully, and like many other that day, they too fell into unconsciousness.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&**

"Alright let's begin," Kakashi stated as he slid into a stance similar to Rock Lee's his Sharingan exposed, and Sasuke standing before him in much the same manner, his Sharingan also active and blazing.

The two shinobi had readied themselves to attack when the echoing sound of someone screaming came splitting through he valley they were in.

"What the hell.." was all Sasuke managed to get out before he and Kakashi were caught entirely off guard and blown from their feet painfully fast from an explosive force of chakra and slammed into the rock wall that they had been near at the time. Both fell back to the earth after onle a few seconds, but the blow left them winded and they both could feel the faitness of unconsciousness creeping up on them.

"What... what the hell was that..." Sasuke managed to gasp out before he and Kakashi fell face first into the dirt.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&**

"_...demon..."_

"_...monster..."_

"_Get away from my child you filthy beast!"_

"What the hell?" Zabuza screamed as his eye snapped open looking around to take in his surroundings. Every where he looked he saw blackness, pure undiluted blackness that threatened to consume everything.

"Where am I?" he called out to no one in particular.

"_**You are within the boy's mind,**"_ a hauntingly whispered voice echoed throughout the room.

"What the... who are you?" Zabuza demanded as he reached for his sword, only to panic when he felt it wasn't there.

He turned this way and that trying to find the source of the voice, when a brief light appeared in the darkness. His body reacted instantly as it sprung into a sprint towards that light. He came upon it unbelievably fast and it seemed to be a doorway, even as he ran through it.

His sight was blurred for a moment as the room he entered erupted in whiteness, blinding him briefly as he blinked a few times to get his his bearings back.

When he did though, he saw a throng of people standing with him on what looked to be a cliff over looking a large lake. Most of them were doing the same as him, trying to regain their eyesight and bearings, and a few he could recall from sight. Kakashi was there, along side Sasuke. The pink haired girl was there as well though Haku was near the girl, with her mask back on as well and, though shaky, was doing as best she could to make sure the very confused and disoriented gennin was okay.

Gaara was there as well, the Lee kid being helped to his feet by the Suna Jinchuuriki, with a blond girl and a a boy with kabuki face paint on near the two as well.

The others though that he had been told from the Hokage had seemed to have been brought here as their teams. The older green clad Jounin, which made Zabuza's eye twitch at just looking at him, was kneeling beside a shaky brown haired girl and raven haired boy with milky white eyes. A Hyuuga by his guess. Then there was a slim blond girl and rotund boy being helped to their feet by a bearded smoker in a Jounin uniform and a rather lithe looking black haired boy. The other two people, a woman with red eyes and boy with a high collared jacket and dark rounded sunglasses were checking over the two that he had left with Haku at the hospital. The Hokage was there as well, giving a helping hand to the Jounin as they tried to consul the gennin and as everyone tried to regain their bearings.

A groan from just a bit aways from that group brought the most surprising people into Zabuza's sight. One was a busty blond that had a black haired woman beside her, helping her up, another was an old man in outlandish clothes with a large head of white hair, a pair of shinobi in cloaks with Red Clouds on them and the ones that caught his eye the most as well as made him the most cautious.

The three cloaked shinobi from the room with their hoods down. The woman he had already seen with her hood down, but the other two were the most shocking to finally be able to see their faces. The male known as Katsuhito, the one with the dragon upon his cloak, had platinum blond hair and silvery colored eyes. His entire demeanor was that of someone who had been raised in a high class family, though he truly looked as if he didn't care about that.

The other man, had raven black unruly hair that hung loosely at his shoulders. But the piercing emerald colored eyes and the lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead had his attention the most. His expression was grim as he and his two companions seemed to talk in whispers for a moment with the two red cloud cloaked men.

"Any idea as to where we are Hokage-sama?" Zabuza asked as came up to the old man as he helped a wobbly Kakashi to his feet. He adjust his mask slightly as Kakashi had heard the question and stared at the ex-nukenin in confusion.

The Hokage looked around at the are for a moment before sighing.

"We are at a place called the Valley of the End. Though how we all got here so suddenly after that large chakra surge, as well as with I am sure that happened I am afraid to say I have no idea," Sarutobi answered as he walked over to the cliff.

"But isn't this place near the edge of the Fire Country's border?" the red eyed woman asked as she managed to rouse the unconscious Hinata who sprang up suddenly and snapped her head this way and that.

"Kurenai-sensei... where are we? And where's Naruto-kun?" the young girl asked, her voice extremely frantic.

The red eyed woman, Kurenai, looked at Hinata oddly for a moment before relaying to her where they where and that she had no idea where the blond haired gennin could be. But at the name of where they were, Hinata's face paled significantly. She stood up quickly, though slightly regretted it as she felt a wave of euphoria wash over her. She shook the feeling off though as she moved quickly to the ledge of the cliff.

Everyone was had seen the girl's reaction and all were more than curious as to what had her so fearful all of a sudden, as well as to what had caused her to go towards the cliff. The Hokage rested a hand on her surprisingly tense shoulder as he gazed down at the now shaking girl.

"Is there something wrong Hinata?" Sarutobi asked, his gut feeling that the answer was not going to be something he liked.

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata whispered out as tears started to form in her eyes.

Sarutobi was about to ask what she meant when an explosion of water out in the lake dew his attention, as well as everyone else's to the lake as the water came pouring back down.

The strained their eyes to see for a moment before another torrent of chakra ripped through the air and washed over them. It was no where near as powerful as the one they had felt earlier that had knocked them out. But the feel of the power was still the same, powerful and deadly.

But their thoughts were interrupted as a red glow started to cover the area. The older shinobi knew exactly what this chakra was that they were feeling now, as well as the red glow that was happening. The gennin, aside from Hinata, were looking panicked at the massive wave of power that was emitting.

"_What the hell are you?"_ a voice screamed out from down near the lake. It was scratchy, as if coming through a radio but Sasuke suddenly felt his blood go cold. It was _his_ voice...

"_I'm your friend Sasuke!"_ another voice yelled, clearly Naruto's voice, though the more youthful sounding one than he had been sounding recently. Sasuke couldn't help but feel his guts start to squirm at the comment. Something was off here for he, and probably everyone else for that matter, could hear the utter desperation in Naruto's voice as well as a great deal of anger.

But even as everyone had suddenly started to strain their eyes to see who exactly was talking down on the lake their entire surrounding suddenly changed and they were all now standing on the lake looking at the feet of the two statues that were on either side of the water fall.

On the right they saw Naruto as his twelve year old self, his orange jumper suit shredded and torn in places. But on top of that, the red glow that was surrounding the area was being emitted from the chakra that was surrounding him. Everyone was clearly shocked as the chakra around him had formed two long ears and one tail that had sprouted out behind him.

To the left though they became even more shocked. It was Sasuke, though from the changes on his body, he seemed even more demonic and vile than the chakra that was leaking out of Naruto. The two hand like wings sprouting out of his back, the long ashes hair, the bronze colored skin, and the black eyes with a fully developed Sharingan blazing in them.

The two boys said nothing to each other as an attack was charged in each of their hands. On Sasuke, and at this Kakashi's eyes widened greatly, the Chidori formed, though black and twisted, just like the boy looked. With Naruto, a spinning ball of red chakra formed, the swirling sound of air erupting from it as the screeching sound a a thousands birds came to be with the chidori.

Both boy suddenly jumped at each other from their positions and their attacks connected with each other, the end result being a chakra overload as a chakra shield seemed to form around them. The group could still see what was going on though and noticed that Naruto adjust the trajectory of his attack, even as it looked like he was going to win, and gouged a slash through the forehead protector on Sasuke's head, as Sasuke's chidori slammed into and through Naruto's chest, just barely above his heart.

The air suddenly grew very tense at the scene before them, Sasuke being affected the most as he started to feel the food he had eaten a while ago start to bubble up from his stomach at the sight of him, twisted and demonic looking, with his own hand through the chest of someone he considered his best friend.

But even as the horrible scene unfolded with the two slamming into the bank of where Naruto had originally stood, the scenery and surrounding changed again.

This time it looked to be a bridge somewhere and an older looking Naruto was walking beside a flustered looking old man with white hair and a scroll hanging on his back.

"_Ano... how long before we can head back?"_ the older Naruto asked, his voice still scratchy but a little deeper than last time. A collective sigh escaped everyone's lips at that, them all believing that Naruto had died from that last scene.

"_Considering your last run in with that Uchiha, we'll be lucky if we can manage to even get back to Konoha again. You managed to put of the body transfer once brat, but both of those bastards are still out there. And we have still have other problems to deal with as well," _ the white haired man said, his voice sounding as tired as he looked but also sounding fed up with something.

Naruto looked incredulously at the man as he pointed a finger at the man and screamed, "_And whose fault is that. If you hadn't been of drinking and peeking at women and actually trained me more than just giving me a scroll and leaving me to figure it out on my own I could have taken that snake-teme and Sasuke down without having to really on the fur balls powers."_

It was hear that Naruto reached up and adjust a necklace that had a metal plate attached to it with what looked like a seal on it.

"_And how long do I have to wear this damn seal anyways, I can live just fine without it you know," _Naruto complained as he adjust the necklace again.

"_That living as you called it is also the cause of why where are leaving Konoha as well gaki. Without it you wouldn't be able to stand said fur balls chakra and would loose yourself much like you did at the bridge. You already cost one shinobi his life cause or your carelessness Naruto, how many more are you willing to risk in your own foolishness," _the man snapped angrily at Naruto.

Naruto had a look of pure shock and horror on his face as he gazed at the now greatly whitening old man.

"_You... your just like the rest of them..._" Naruto said as he face contorted into a deadly scowl and glare.

The white haired man tried to open his mouth but could not find any words to rectify what he had just said and done. And it was in this silence that Naruto reached up and ripped the necklace from his neck, as well as another one that only a few seemed to recognize, from his neck.

"_Everyone wants me gone so bad fine. I'll go bring Sasuke back on my own with yours or anybody else's help," _ Naruto screamed as he threw the two necklaces hard at the now gaping and very white colored old man before disappearing with a yellow trail of after images following after him.

"_Dear Kami-sama... what have I done..."_ the old man whispered to himself as he knelt down and pick up the two necklaces from the dirt.

It was hear the scene changed again to Naruto, the red chakra back around him, beating the hell out of a patch of trees. One after another a tree fell under powerful strikes.

"_Stupid Ero-sennin... Stupid village... Stupid fox..." _Naruto muttered as he kept bashing tree after tree for nearly a minute before falling to his knees and punching the ground. This also had the unfortunate side effect of ripping skin from his hands and starting to make a crater from the sheer force of his blows, but the wounds he received healed just as fast as they were inflicted.

"_Oh Naruto-kun..."_ a deep malicious voice suddenly said from around them and the only person to even notice the voice stiffened greatly. Zabuza looked panicked as he looked around the scenery to try and find the source of the voice, but the scenery suddenly went black again.

It was only a few moments before a glow filled the groups sight again. This time the glow coming from two torches places on either side of a dragon statues with its mouth open. At the base of the statue though was Naruto, bloodied, beaten, and unconscious, and he was laying on a large intricate seal that now one in the group had ever seen before.

Though the only one who didn't seem to reak curiosity at the seal was the young Hyuuga Heiress as her gaze was locked on the seemingly dead form of Naruto. Hell, if it wasn't for the fact that they could clearly see his chest rise and fall, now matter how shallow it may be, they figured he'd be dead.

But even as they starred, a dark green glow started to come form the dragons open mouth before splitting into nine glowing tentacles, each with a head similar to the dragon from which they came. One by one the slammed into Naruto, making him cry out in pain as the seal below him glowed the same color. Naruto's cries of pain only got louder as the chanting around them seemed to pick up a fevered pitch and the dragon light tentacles started to pull out something from Naruto. But the farthest they ever got was about five inches away from Naruto, with what looked like a red paw now sticking out of his chest.

The chanting stopped then as the tentacles couldn't move anymore and somewhere in the blackness, a voice sighed.

"_This is the fifth time we have tried this and we can't get the fox out any farther than that,"_ the voice was deep and crackly, but otherwise unrecognizable by anyone.

"_Maybe we should adjust our plans so that the boy becomes what we had planned and we control him to do our bidding," _ a voice a great deal knew VERY well, and that made Sasuke's blood run hot with anger.

"_A splendid idea as usual, Uchiha Itachi,"_ another voice rang out from around them somewhere.

But even at that the scene changed again. This time it looked as if they were looking through the eyes of someone. And whoever eyes they were looking through, made them sick. This person was attacking what looked to be a lesser village within the shinobi realm and he was leaving no one alive. Clawed hands pierced people through their stomach before ripping them open, leaving them shortly after to bleed to death wit their organs spilling onto the ground. Skulls were crushed under mighty blows of fist and feet, bones broken with a simple kick, and body crushed as they were thrown against walls or the ground so hard that you could clearly hear the spine and rib cage break as if they were glass.

"No... stop... please stop it!" a child's voice rang out from somewhere behind the group, startling them enough to remove their gaze from the horrid scene to stare gawking at what had to be a five year old Naruto curled into a little ball with his head buried into his knees.

"Please make it stop... make it leave those people alone..." the little Naruto cried out as the sounds of flesh and muscle being ripped seemed to echo throughout the silent air.

Hinata was the only one who seemed to act as she started to move towards the child like Naruto to try and comfort him.

She got no more than two feet from him before his entire body sprung up and seemed to age twenty years in a flash as he screamed, "NO STAY AWAY FROM ME! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

The hurt and sadness in his eyes was visible to everyone even as the body vanished from their sight and the sounds and scene of the ruthless massacre stopped.

The area around them flickered in and out then, much like broken television would, before coming into focus again with another new scene. This one though chilled the group to their core.

Eight bodies in red cloud dotted cloaks dotted a bloodied clearing within a tree line. Kunai and shuriken were embedded in a few, one seemed to have been simply reduced to the red mush, and a few looked to have been ripped limb from limb.

"_..Na..ru..to..." _ the strained and gargled voice of Uchiha Itachi called out from near the forests edge, everyone turning to see what was going on, just like the rest of the scenes. What they saw was Itachi, dressed in the same red cloud cloak as the bodies, with a large hole in and through his chest.

However he was being held up by what looked like a panicked, though again older looking Naruto.

"_You're going to be fine Itachi. Hold on, I can use some of my chakra and heal that wound," _Naruto stated very quickly as on of his hands took on a dark green glow.

"_No..(cough)... don't waste your chakra... that bastard... he's too strong..." _Itachi started to say but had to stop for a moment as he coughed up some blood as the light in his normal obsidian eyes was fading.

"_Damnit Itachi, you'll be fine... let me he heal you and we can take that bastard on together,"_ Naruto said, his voice cracking and getting more panicky by the second.

"_No... you must face him alone I'm afraid... I can only leave you with this though... to help you beat him..." _Itachi said weakly and before Naruto could say anything, he had made three unrecognizable seals.

His Sharingan had activated then, the Magenkyo already in place as he touched his temples with his now black glowing hands before touching the sides of Naruto's temples. The black glow suddenly consumed Naruto's head as if it were fire and out of reflex he jumped back, dropping a now surely dead Itachi to the ground as he tried to shake the black flames from his head.

And it seemed to work as the flames started to disperse, or rather started to get sucked towards Naruto's eyes. As the last of the flames died Naruto blinked his now burning eyes several times to get his sight back.

When he could finally open his eyes, the group gasped at what they saw. Naruto's eyes had changed entirely. The main part of the pupil had changed into what looked like a three pointed black shuriken. One point was pointing straight up, the other two down with one more to the left and the other more to the right. At the top point there was another three pointed shuriken like mark, though this one was curved and looked more like three rain drops had been merged together while swirling. This was obviously the same shape of the Magenkyo Sharingan. To the bottom right of that was a simple spiral, like the ones seen on the vest of every shinobi of Chuunin or above. Only the Hokage, Kakashi, the busty blond woman, and the white haired old man seemed to know what that symbol was for as their faces paled considerably.

The last mark however had everyone suddenly looking at a very sad and panicked looking Hinata. She had her hand to her chest clasping the pendant there with her hand as tight as she could as more and more questions seemed to enter her mind, only to be answered by a flow of memories that were assaulting her own mind scape.

The symbol was a tear drop swirl that resembled closely the symbol on all Konoha shinobi's headbands. However, this one looked more like a water drop and there was only one other place this mark could be found, and that was with Hyuuga Hinata, as it was her own personal crest as the Hyuuga Clan Heir.

But even at that the scene suddenly blacked out and the group found themselves falling. A few of the female gennin screeched at the sudden loss of a floor as they fell with the others and all of them grunted in pain as they landed on what was cold hard stone.

"**Thank kami-sama... I finally got you fools out of there,"** A deep and dark voice suddenly echoed around them, making all of their heads snap up at the voice. This one was dark and held untold power within it, but it also didn't have that scratchy sound like the ones from the people in those things they had seen.

What everyone's gaze came to rest upon though was a set of massive steal gates, each side a glow with just as massive of torches, and a simple looking paper seal attached in the middle of the gates holding it closed.

"What is this place?" Chouji's voice cracked out as he managed to tear his gaze away from the massive gates and look at the room all of these people where in.

The entire chamber was massive streching a large distance from wall to wall, and the ceiling being easily several hundred feet high, though it was made entirely of pipes from what the Akimichi could see.

"**This place is truly not of any concern to many of you, as after this, only a few of you will ever see a place like this again,"** the voice echoed again, although this time everyone was sure it was coming from the cage.

The entire group tensed as the ground started to shake slightly as what ever was in the cage seemed to start to walk towards the gates, and towards them. But even as it did, they could all hear the distinct sounds of what sounded like grinding flesh as something seemed to change and the sounds of of a great weight walking changed into the clip clop sound of boots on stone.

So it was with great apprehension that the group, though not fully knowing everyone there, minus the Hokage, readied themselves for a fight to fight with one another.

"**I am not here to fight any of you. Just to explain where you are and how you probably got here," **the deep voice said again, though this time not echoing and for certain coming from within the gates.

It was then that a figured stepped into the light and both Haku and Zabuza's eyes widened as the realized who it was that had been speaking.

It was the human form of the Kyuubi, even as he gently stepped through the massive space between the bars of the gate, though grimacing slightly as a currently of electricity seemed to arc over his body for a moment as he passed, before letting him continue to walk forward.

"Who are you and where are we?" the bust blond demanded, her voice dripping with annoyance and anger.

"_**Silence woman! I will not be talked to in such a way when I am merely trying to help!"**_ the human form of the Kyuubi snapped back harshly as a wave of killing intent so potent washed over everyone, bringing them easily to their knees and backsides in but a moment as they all starred at the red haired man before them with now frightened looks.

The electrical current washed over him again though at that as well, cutting the pressure made off quickly as he grimaced in pain. It was only a moment though for he soon had his glare leveled with the busty blond again.

"**I don't care how powerful you all may think you may be, but where you are right now... this is my domain,"** the Kyuubi stated fiercly before getting nervous nods from the adults and out right frightened ones form all of the gennin except Hinata.

"**Now, as I was saying before I was interrupted,"** the Kyuubi stopped for a moment to level and intense glare at the busty bond, making her flinch away from the entity before her, "**is that I am here to give you people, or at least some of you, an understanding of what you just saw."**

It was here Kyuubi stopped for a moment to judge over the reactions of the people that were somehow in front of him. The rookie nine, well most of them, were starring at him in fear and wonder, but also rapt attention as they were undoubtedly curious as to what they had seen.

The few that weren't were people that he already knew. The young Hyuuga Heiress Hinata, whose face was pale and her eyes filled with unshed tears. She was grasping the necklace that rested against her bosom as her breaths came in deep shallow breaths.

The Uchiha brat, as the Kyuubi called him, was also starring at him with a pale face and shaking slightly from what he had seen. Nothing in his head was probably adding up at the moment and Kyuubi had a strong feeling that the boys sanity had just taken a rather large hit.

Then there were the people who weren't looking at him at all amongst the gennin. The Sand Siblings were the first he had seen, Temari and Kankuro starring at now slumped over Gaara against the back wall. Kyuubi had an idea as to what was going on with him though it was obvious that the Suna Jinchuuriki had not said a word to his siblings about him being able to sleep and they still believed that Shukaku would take over his host and devour the poor boys soul. Inwardly, Kyuubi smirked at the obvious foolishness of the situation the two were in.

But with those said siblings was green clad gennin he had seen in Gaara's sand back in the Chamber of the Spirits. On his left side was what had to be the older cousin of Hinata, from what he remembered anyway. But on the boys right was someone that had Kyuubi smiling somewhat evilly in his own head at.

"**_So that's what the girl looks like..."_** the Kyuubi though amusdely before he started to speak again. But he didn't even get a syllable out before the the area around them flickered again then all found themselves falling once more, again coming into contact with cold hard stone.

Even the Kyuubi was caught off guard by the sudden change and grunted in annoyance as he stood back to his feet. The others, again standing tending to each other as they all tried to stand, or help those that couldn't stand on their own, also stood. The Hokage, however, was more than curious about why Kyuubi was in a human form, and thousands upon thousands time more afraid of what was going on.

But even as he looked around, his face paled again. They were standing in a room he had not been in since the the Kyuubi attack, and it was the very same room where Naruto and his small group of people had been earlier. Except now, it looked like a hurricane had passed through the room with the statues toppled over or out of place, and more than a few of them were broken.

But besides being in this place, what had him paled the most was what he saw in the center of the room where the stone slab that he knew should be there though wasn't.

There was Naruto, but not the Naruto he knew, and his gut told him he never wished to know. This Naruto was easily in his mid twenties, maybe early thirties and had what could only be described as an insane look in his eye. He was a little over six and half feet tall and his unruly bright blond hair was held in a low ponytail on his head that went to about his mid back. His pants were what looked to be a pair of dark black loose but still form fitting, cargo pants that had the ankles wrapped and tucked into black boots. His shirt was a blood red t-shirt and over which he wore a dark forest green trench coat that had the sleeves cut off and the bottom was ripped and frayed in places. The final piece of what Naruto was wearing though were three swords. Two looked like normal katanas, both attached to his left hip. The other one though, was strapped to his back, and it was this one the Sarutobi recognized was the one that Zabuza had described to him.

"**This... is not good..."** the Kyuubi muttered from his place besides the Hokage, drawing a strange look from the old man.

"What do you mean?" Sarutobi asked as he continued to gaze at the evil looking Naruto.

"**These are the kits memories... some of these people are not ready to see such things..."** the Kyuubi whispered again as he looked over his shoulder again, mainly at the gennin. His mind was made up in an instant as he summoned an enormous amount of chakra. The sudden gathering of it drew everyone's attention away from the memory before a red flash enveloped them.

It vanished just as quickly, but the group of people had be drastically reduced. The only ones left were a now panting Kyuubi on one knee, the Hokage, Zabuza, Kakashi, Sasuke, Hinata, a now awake but wobbly Gaara, the two red clouded cloaked shinobi, the three other cloaked shinobi from Kamigakure, and Haku.

Once Kyuubi had regained his breath, he could only frown. He had wanted more people to have been ejected from Naruto's mindscape, for that was where they were, but it looked like with his still recovering reserves he was not able to eject everyone he had wanted.

But even at after the sudden flash, the ones that were still left became entranced by the memory Naruto once more as he he seemed to be talking. They all saw his lips moving but there was no sound. The only thing they could get across though was that he must have been saying something foul, especially since he had a sinister looking sneer on his face.

But that sneer quickly turned into a frown of annoyance as he started to look around him and move his hand to the sword on his back. It was stopped about halfway though from something that no one could see. This obviously infuriated Naruto, as his eyes had gone from their normal to the slitted blood red ones. Red chakra started to seep out of his body then as well in an attempt to break what ever it was that was holding him back.

But as that happened, nine other sources of chakra flashed before everyone's eyes, blinding them again temporarily as Kyuubi's had. Even the Kyuubi had been blinded by the bursts, but he knew where they had come from, though he was not about to tell anyone had done such a thing.

However, when he had regained his blurred vision back, his own face paled, and he found himself wanting to beat the hell out of his own body for not having enough reserves to expel a few more people from Naruto's mind when he had done so. The reason for being so was that the group was now in an open plain.

It was a fairly simple area, if the fact that there were massive holes that dotted the land scape and the fact that there were two large chakra sources in what could only be described as a Life or Death battle.

The group, not truly of their own accord, suddenly found themselves about hundred feet from where said signatures where, and again, most had their eyes open in horror.

It was a fight between Sasuke and Naruto again, but their bodies had changed from when the scene they had last seen between the two boys. They were both older, and their clothes had not changed much it looked like from the last battle they saw. This fact confused the group a bit after having just seen Naruto in a completely different outfit not ten seconds before. But that was where the similarities ended.

Naruto once again had the blood red chakra armor surrounding him, though there a few slivers over other colors that emitted every now and then. But instead of the one tail he had last time, he now sprout nine out behind him. His eyes also had changed completely. Instead of just the pupil turning a blood red, the entire eye had gone blood red and where the pupil would normally be, was now a slitted dark turquoise one. He clearly had fangs as well as they could see from his gritting teeth and his nails had grown to be about three inch claws. His once normally bright golden hair had changed become streaked with red.

Sasuke was also covered in a chakra armor this time, though his was a mixture of a dark purple and black, his body looked the same as the last time, with the two large hand like wings sticking out of his back, but and added appendage was now a tail with a spiked ball on the end. He two though also had a set of claws and fangs, though his fangs were definitely smaller, and his claws being just barely long enough to even consider them as such. His Sharingan still had only the three marks in them as they spun wildly while he glared at Naruto.

But also from the look of the two boys, as well as from the devastated field they were in, they had been fighting for a while and where reaching their limits once again. Again, both boys charged up the familiar swirling ball of chakra and the hand covered in lightning before charging at each other once more.

Yet even as they charged, they, as well as the small group of people, minus Kyuubi, were unprepared for what they saw next. In a swirl of leaves an older looking Sakura appeared between the two, facing Sasuke with her arms outstretched as her voice screamed, "_STOP THIS!_"

Naruto's face chaged to one of absolute horror as he instantly released the chakra in his hand so that he wouldn't kill his friend and teammate, but he could not stop his moment as easily. Sasuke on the other hand, his look of fury also replaced by one of horror, was not so lucky. He too could not stop his momentum but his attack was one that could not be dispelled as easily as the one Naruto had been using. So it was with a great horror that his hand slammed into and through Sakura's chest piercing just to the side of the heart, though if it were Naruto it would have been exactly where his heart would have been.

The ear piercing scream that erupted from Sakura made everyone flinch in pain before her body went limp, only to be caught by a sliding Naruto on his knees with Sasuke's hand being pulled out of her body at an odd angle.

The girl was still alive though as she coughed up blood almost the second her momentum was stopped by Naruto.

"_Please... stop this... you two...cough... you two shoudln't be fighting..."_ Sakura's voice echoed over the now eerily silent field.

"_Damnit Sakura, hold on, I can fix you, just stay with us,"_ a now very panicked Naruto said as his hands blurred through a series of handseals so fast, now one, not even the Kyuubi was able to see what they were before his hands started to glow a deep green. Gingerly he placed the hand over the hole in his friends chest as he started to pour copious amounts of chakra into the healing jutsu he was using. Sasuke, was frozen to the spot as he starred at his bloody hand, Naruto and Sakura just beyond his now shaking vision.

"_Sasuke..."_ the now even quieter voice of Sakura said, snapping the still horror struck Uchiha out of his thoughts to look down to the pink haired girl. His face was horror stricken and Sakura could easily see that in his eyes.

"_...I love... you... Sasuke... but please... stop fighting..."_ were the last words that left Sakura's mouth as she tried to reach out to the Uchiha. And it was her outstretched arm went limp that everything that had just happened withing the last minute registered into Sasuke's head.

And it was with that information that he slumped down to his knees and took the now dead girls hand in his. Naruto, who had his eyes closed as he still poured more and more chakra into the girl body, didn't even realize what that girl he was trying to save had died in his arms. It was only the sound of Sasuke falling to his knees that made his eyes open, his eyes now suddenly back to their normal blue.

But the sight of Sakura, now truly dead, her lifeless sea green eyes still open but looking at Sasuke, that the implications of what had happened caught up to him as well.

"_Sakura... no Sakura, you can't die... I haven't fulfilled my promise yet damn it... you can't die on me yet..." _Naruto choked out as sobs wracked his body.

The sound of someone throwing up though made most of the group suddenly jump away as they turned to the source of the noise. The real Sasuke was on his hands and knees, vomit splattered slightly on his face and on the ground in front of him. His skin color had gone deathly pale and his body had broken out in a cold sweat as it shook. And most could understand why the young Uchiha was in such a condition.

Hinata, though just as pale and on the verge of throwing up herself, was the first to go to Sasuke's aid. She knelt beside him and placed a comforting hand on his back, his body tensing for a moment before relaxing at her touch. But at the same time, everyone's attention was drawn back to where the memory Sasuke and Naruto where.

The reason for their attention being grabbed, a smooth, silky, but at the same time a bit raspy voice was laughing. And accompanied with said laugh was a man dressed in a cream kimono, a large purple belt wrapped around his waist and tied in a big bow behind him. His face was an unearthly white and his golden slitted eyes stood out fiercely against his pale features and clothing. The appearance of this man made the five cloaked shinobi tense greatly, and both the Hokage and Zabuza could only wonder why as they had felt the tension, though the Hokage now started to have an idea of what was going on.

The dream Naruto's attention had been drawn to this man as well, and to say the sudden spike in chakra as well as the amount of killing intent that exploded out of the young Jinchuuriki was overwhelming would be an understatement.

"_Orochimaru, you snake bastard,"_ Naruto growled out. The name made most of the group flinch but the snake like man within the dream could only smirk at the blond.

But even as they had flinched, Naruto had moved to attack the snake sannin, leaving a still thunderstruck Sasuke on his knees starring at the corpse of a girl, no woman, who had loved him, and had given her life to stop the fighting between him and Naruto.

He was entirely oblivious to the arrival of Orochimaru as all his mind could even think about was the pain that was seeping into his blackened heart at the death of Sakura. Nor did his mind register that Naruto had attacked said sake sannin until the body of Naruto was slammed into the ground right next to Sakura, the Kusanagi piercing his right shoulder and pinning him to the ground.

"_Such a waste and such a shame. If it wasn't for your pathetic body already being so crowded with souls I would prefer to take your body at this time instead of Sasuke-kun's. But... seeing as how he has now awakened what he sought..." _Orochimaru voice said, leaving the last part hanging as a eerie grin crept onto his face.

Sasuke, hearing his words, turned to look at the man with something to a mixture of horror, shock, and knowing in his eyes. And the group could see what the evil sannin was talking about now as well, the Magenkyo Sharingan had formed in Sasuke's eyes.

"_You sick twisted bastard... you planned all this... I'll kill you for this..." _Naruto screamed out as the red chakra armor and tails came back in full effect, but he could not hope to react in time as he saw what happened next.

Orochimaru's body had suddenly crumpled to the ground but as it had, what could only be described as a snake like entity had emerged from said body and flown at Sasuke with unnatural speed, slamming into the unsuspecting Uchiha and forcing his body harshly onto his back, where he started to scream in pain.

But it was at this that the scene changed again, and by now, what was left of the group did not feel like they could take anymore of these visions and scenes.

But once the scenery of the forest had vanished, the found themselves in an unnatural blackness. But the darkness quickly was illuminated by something appearing before them. They shielded their eyes or closed them them from the intense burst of light that happened before opening them only after the intensity had ebbed away to a decent level.

What they saw made everyone's face pale, even Kyuubi's and Hinata's.

The Shinigami, the death god, was now hovering before them, its knife removed from its mouth, and the Naruto they had seen from that strange chamber was standing before it, his shirt and coat gone, his pants torn in various places, and his boots just barely holding themselves together. This of course allowed those present a very good and very clear view of the tattooed seal on his back as well as the names on his arms.

"**_WHY HAVE YOU SUMMONED ME MORTAL CHILD?" _**a voice that thousands of times deeper and darker than Kyuubi's echoed out from all around them.

"_I need your help,"_ Naruto responded, his voice tired raspy and with none of the energy he normally displayed.

"**_WHY IS IT THAT YOU NEED MY HELP?"_** the voice boomed again.

Naruto's body stiffened at the question but soon slouched as his head and shoulders dropped, "_I must let my families souls find peace."_

"**_YOU PLAY A DANGEROUS GAME CHILD. AND YOU KNOW THE PRICE A MORTAL MUST PAY FOR EVEN SUMMONING ME,"_** the Shinigami stated again.

"_I... I have nothing left to live for. Everything I have ever loved has been ripped away from me. This is my only chance to pay my family back for the sins that I have committed," _Naruto said, his voice quiet and full of sadness. It was quiet for a few moments after that, the Shinigami looking at Naruto both hungrily but also thoughtfully before it put its dagger back in its mouth and started to vanish

"**_SO BE IT," _**were the last words any of the group heard as their worlds suddenly went dark and they all, including Kyuubi, felt the darkness of unconsciousness take them once again.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&**

As the suns rays of first light peaked over the Hokage monument of Konoha, signaling the start of a new day withing the illustrious city, nearly all of its inhabitants were being roused by the soft warm glow the sun. But even though they were waking, they were all very confused. They found themselves in odd places among the village and could not help but wonder what had happened to them as their heads started to ache with pounding head aches. Everyone, civilian and shinobi alike were only slightly curious as to how they had managed to be in such places as they were when they were woken up, but at the same time, just shrugged it off as a lapse in memory or some such thing before just tossing that small inconsequential piece of information out of their minds.

There were a few being stirred though that did know how they had ended up where they were. The Hokage was one of the first people to retain consciousness, and stood up from where he was laying face first on a cold ceramic floor. His legs were shaky though as he stood and images upon images flashed before his brain, his mind working just as quickly to sort through them and take in their importance and meanings.

Said images also made him quite dizzy as he continued to stand and he soon found him self sitting in a chair in the room, his head between his knees as he waited for the wave of euphoria that had assaulted him to pass.

Zabuza was next within the room and was in much the same condition as the Hokage once he had managed to stand. But his body took a simpler route as he just slumped his back against the wall and fell to his rump as his hands held both sides of his head. He let our a groan as a head ache started to assault him as the images passed trough his minds eyes.

Both men recovered quickly after the images stopped a few minutes later though, and took note that the scrolls that had been floating around Naruto had fallen to the floor, as well as that Naruto had stopped thrashing but most of his clothes were gone as well, leaving him just enough cloth from his pants to keep his modesty as he actually snored while being sound asleep.

They also took note that Haku, Hinata, and Kiba were just starting to rouse as well and though they still felt incredibly weak, moved to go help the three as they awoke. They were in no better condition than when the two men had woken up and were soon seated against the same wall that Zabuza had been sitting against just minutes ago.

It was once they were sitting against the wall that the Hoakge and Zabuza looked to where the three cloaked shinobi were and noticed that they were still knocked out as well, the stick that they had somehow summoned to them still grasped firmly in their hands. A growl from Zabuza emitted from Zabuza's throat as he he stared at the three unconscious shinobi and he moved to go wake them up forcefully.

He was stopped however by a hand on his shoulder from the Hokage.

"Wait Zabuza-san. I know who these three are now, and I have a good idea as to who those two that are with them are as well," Sarutobi said, his voice unnaturally dry he found.

"Old man, you saw what these brats did as well as I did. And what ever it was caused what ever we saw to happen. They must be detained," Zabuza growled out. In truth, he rather wanted to split these three in half with his sword. The headache he had right now was more than enough reason for his old ways to want to come back and slaughter the three, but at the same time the visions he had seen only made him want to do that even more. Those memories... were not something he had wished to have seen, even if it was someone else's and he had no clue to as how he had seen them in the first place.

Sarutobi sighed a little before saying, "That may be true, but believe me, these three mean Konoha no harm. We will wait till they have awakened before talking with them privately. Also, I think after this incident, there will be much explaining that needs to be done those who witnessed those events."

At the last sentence, Sarutobi was looking directly at the sleeping Naruto. His heart ached at his mind pieced together what the boy must have gone through before he had come back to this reality.

"_Oh Naruto-kun...,"_ the Hokage thought sadly before instructing Zabuza to at least take the three cloaked shinobi back to his office. He also ordered the ex-mist nin to stay in his office with the three and to wait there until he came back. His response was only a growl but Zabuza quickly did as he was told. With a few hand seals, two water clones had formed from the moisture in the air and had grabbed a hold of the two males while the real Zabuza lifted the female before all three vanished from the room with their cargo in a puff of smoke.

It was at the puff of smoke that Hinata seemed to come fully back into her senses as she soon stood and walked over to Naruto's bedside with wobbly legs.

"Hinata-san, you should still rest your body. Whatever happened to all of is has left all of us probably quite drained," Sarutobi stated when he had turned to face to young girl.

Hinata didn't even answer him before she climbed into the bed next to Naruto shakily and laid down beside him. It was here that she rested her head on his chest, wrapped her arm around his stomach, and intertwined her legs with his before she started to cry softly.

Sarutobi was completely and utterly dumbstruck by the young Hyuuga's very bold moves, not to mention she hadn't even responded to him. But his shock soon wore off as a grim look came upon his face as he realized something. Hinata had changed slightly as well, that much was easily ascertained from her reaction when she had woken up, but there was something more to her now that he had not noticed before. It was something akin to how Naruto had suddenly changed.

But even as his mind tried to piece together that large puzzle that was surrounding Naruto and now Hinata, his thoughts were interrupted yet again by a moan from behind him.

With a start he realized he had completely forgotten about the woman that Zabuza said he had found and turned quickly to look at the now moaning in a slight pain woman. As his eyes grew wider and wider as he starred at the woman, more memories flashing though his head, his body froze once more. His face only seemed to pale more though, even as the woman slowly started to wake up as well, her eyes fluttering as they tried to open, though closing instantly they did and eliciting another groan from the woman.

And that was how Haku and Kiba saw the Hokage once the pain in the head's had dissipated to a tolerable point as he breathed out one word.

"Motoko..."

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&**

"NO!" Naruto screamed as his body shot bolt upright from where he was laying. He was breathing heavily as if he had just ran a mile and a cold sweat covered his body.

But as he caught his breath and looked around, he could only groan out in annoyance. He was in his mind scape again just outside the Kyuubi's cage.

"Ah, damn it. What the hell am I doing here Kyuubi?" Naruto groaned out as he stood up on shaky feet.

There was no response.

That had Naruto snap his head in the direction og the cage before he stumbled as quickly as he could.

"Kyuubi?" he called out. Again no response.

"KYUUBI?" he called out louder this time, his normally calm nature being replaced by panic.

"**I'm here kit... keep it down would ya?"**the voice of the Kyuubi called out from behind him, making him turn around quickly.

What he saw was the Kyuubi in his human form, on one knee and using the katana, still sheathed, that had been at his waist for support. The old fox demon looked like he had been through the ringer a few times and Naruto rushed quickly to his side before lifting one of his arms over his shoulders and helping the demon stand.

"You okay Kyuubi?" Naruto asked, not entirely sure why he asked the question as he could clearly see the Kyuubi's state. The glare he got was all he really needed to know seeing as he had answered his own question in his head as he helped the Kyuubi limp back to the cage.

Once there, Naruto removed the Kyuubi's arm from his shoulders but still helped the Kyuubi as much as he could as the demon stepped back into the sealed cage, his body almost instantly transforming back into his monstrous fox form.

With a contented sigh the Kyuubi turned and plopped down on his stomach as he laid his head on his massive paws and stared out the gate at Naruto.

"What happened to you?" Naruto asked, his eyes and voice showing his concern for the large fox demon.

Kyuubi could only stare at Naruto in stunned silence before asking, "**You don't remember anything kit?"**

Naruto's brow furrowed with confusion as he answered, "Remember what exactly?"

"**Your memories,"** Kyuubi responded, and was amazed that, even though realization dawned on Naruto, he didn't suddenly have a mental break down like he had when he had gazed upon the unconscious body of his own mother.

"So... So it wasn't a dream then... Oji-san... Kakashi-sensei... everyone that was important to me... they all saw those memories..." Naruto said with a shaky breath.

The Kyuubi was silent for a moment as he tried to sort his own thoughts out. Yes, Naruto was right in that everyone he had cared about had seen memories that Naruto had forced into his subconsciousness. That alone was something that was baffling the demon to the point of extreme annoyance. The entire event shouldn't have happened at all, but somehow it had, and even more confusing still was that it only happened to a select amount of people and not, at least if his calculations were right considering where everyone that had been there were probably at at this current point in time, what should have been at least over several hundred thousand people there to view the boy memories.

"**So it would seem,"** was all the Kyuubi could really say for even he, the eons old demon, could not figure out exactly what and how what happened happened, and who had caused it to happen.

Now was when Naruto's body seemed to give way as he fell to his rear and sighed as he slumped his shoulders and head forward.

Seeing his vessels mood quickly taking a downward spiral, he flicked out a tail from his cage that slammed into Naruto head with enough force to send the boy crashing to his back.

With a grunt of pain and a growl Naruto was quickly back on his feet glaring daggers at the Kyuubi.

"And what the hell was that for!?" Naruto screamed.

"**To get you out of your rut. Remember the reason we even went to that blasted chamber in the first place. You would have had to explain to the old man exactly how you had gotten those artifacts that you picked up and not only that you would have had to explain to ****_them_ how you got those items as well. That and I spent too long dealing with you and your damned depressed emotions,"** the Kyuubi snarled back, the cage in front of his shaking slightly just from the sound of his deep voice.

Naruto really could not come back at the demon for his blunt words so instead he just snorted in annoyance as he turned around and crossed his arms in anger.

This only served to make the demon start shaking in true genuine laughter. Naruto truly never ceased to amaze him, nor did he cease to amuse him either.

But even as the walls of the great chamber shook, Naruto himself was caught by the infectious laughter and was soon holding his sides from laughing so hard. He didn't have a true reason for why he was laughing, he just laughed, and after several minutes had passed and he had stopped, panting slightly as he caught his breath, he couldn't help but smile and feel a bit better.

"Thanks again... Kyuubi," Naruto stated once his breath had returned.

The great fox demon could only do what could be resembled as a smile, though the sight of his teeth baring in such a way would make most men probably piss themselves.

"**Don't mention it kit. Now... I do believe it is time for you to rejoin the land of being awake,**" the demon stated and with another flick of its tails through the bars, Naruto felt his mind being forced back into his frontal consciousness as well as his body almost instantly waking up.

As Naruto started to feel his body waking up, he couldn't stop the smile that was creeping across his face. His body still felt more relaxed than it had ever felt because of the laughter he had, not to mention the warm presence that was currently attached to him.

"_Wait a second... I don't remember blankets only covering you in particular parts,"_ Naruto suddenly thought, his smile vanishing instantly as he opened his eyes.

What he saw though brought back the smile to his face. Hinata was the one attached to him, and she was curretnly sleeping soundly, though she had him wrapped within in her arms and legs like a cocoon. But Naruto smile took a slightly sad tinge as he noticed that there were streaks along her delicate face, signs that she had been crying earlier and had probably cried herself to sleep.

Naruto cringed with grim realization as to why she had probably been crying in the first place. And it was with said thought that he moved so that his body was on its side facing her. She seemed to notice this in her sleep though as her grip on him tightened while she buried her face into his chest as she scooted closer.

Naruto chuckled mentally at the adorable sight and wrapped an arm around her to hold her close as well. An immense sense of relief coursed through his body the second he held her closer.

"_How could I have been so stupid to not notice her before,"_ Naruto berated himself before he started to drift off back to sleep again.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&**

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE"S BEEN HERE THE ENITRE NIGHT? AND WITH THAT... THAT..._"_

"_The hell is that..."_ Naruto thought groggily as he started to wake up once again.

He didn't want to be waking up at the moment for he felt more content and relaxed than he ever had in his entire life. Looking quickly outside he realized that it was still night time which made him groans slightly at being awoken. But whoever was yelling on the other side of the door had woken him up, and Hinata as well as he watched her eyes slowly flutter open.

"Hey there you," Naruto greeted with a cheesy grin as Hinata's eyes came to look into his.

He watched as a smile formed on her face before she buried her face into his chest again as she held him tighter. But at the same time she started to cry again, soft sobs wracking her body a she gripped him tightly.

"Hey... shhh... its alright... I'm here..." Naruto whispered as he returned the embrace and stroked her hair softly.

"B-But... B-But..." Hinata started to stutter, only to have both her's and Naruto's thought blasted from their minds as the door to the room they were in suddenly get blown off its hinges and go flying across the room to slam into the adjacent wall.

The door being blow of its hinges had Naruto moving even before the door finished flying across the room. In a blur of movement he was between where the door was and Hinata, him now standing with a just as tense Hinata laying in the bed, her eyes starring at Naruto wondering just exactly how he had moved so fast from being embraced by her to being standing on the other side of the bed, ready to fight whoever came through the door if they tried to attack them.

But when the first person walked through the door, her entire demeanor changed in a heartbeat as her anger soared. The reason for this change...

... Hyuuga Hiashi had just walked through the door, and he was by no means calm like he normally was. In fact, both Naruto and Hinata could easily feel his anger radiating off him as he stormed in the door, a very flustered looking Hokage, who looked as if he had not slept at all the previous night, as well as Zabuza and Haku, in much the same condition as the Hokage came in as well.

And the fact that he saw Hinata laying in a bed with Naruto standing defensively before her didn't help quench the clan heads anger. Instead it had the opposite effect, and his expression could similarly be described as adding gas to a fire. His Byakugan came alive in an instant, a small sheen of blue chakra fluttered around him in a haze, and a most terrifying scowl adorned his usually stoic face.

"Hiashi, I will remind you that this is a hospital and such actions are not treated well here," Sarutobi stated harshly to the infuriated Hyuuga.

The warning seemed to only enrage the Hyuuga even further as the veins on the side of his face thickened and his scowl increased even more. Plus it wasn't helping that Naruto was unaffected by his scowl where most men trembled. Even with the incredibly subtle large amount of killing intent wasn't making the child shake.

That fact alone made him want to strike Naruto down wear he stood even more. But even as he glared at the blond haired gennin, the tenseness of the room was shattered as a female doctor came into the room her face a bit pink from obviously running here.

She took one look at the door laying on the ground, then at the two people trying to glare holes into each other.

"Who did this?" her voice screeched, interrupting the glares coming from the two as they looked to her. The blond suddenly went from glaring to confused as he looked at her questioningly but the Hyuuga still had his glare firmly set, leveling his glare on her as if she had made the situation worse.

But his face suddenly went back to normal as the nurses own killing intent suddenly filled the room. If there was one thing that the Hyuuga had learned, it was to never make a medical ninja angry. They seemed to gather an unnatural amount of strength when ever one of their patients were being threatened or when their pride of their profession was on the line.

"I apologize for the disturbance I have caused," Hiashi said as he bowed low. He truly was sorry, even if he was still angry that Hinata had been with Naruto here the entire night.

The doctor nodded once at the Hyuuga, deciding to deal with him later as she turned to the somewhat now smug looking Naruto.

"And you should get back into bed Naruto-kun. Your chakra reserves were depleted when you were brought in here yesterday," the female doctor said scolding though still warm to the blond.

His face instantly went from warm to outright shocked. No one, and he truly meant, NO ONE, had ever been nice to him in the hospital especially the doctors. They all only barely tolerated his presence when there and the only reason they even helped him half the time was because the Hokage had to remind them that he was gennin of the leaf and that refusing to heal him would be considered high treason.

But even still, they all normally glared at Naruto with an utmost passions, hoping that their glares would send him to the pits of hell where he stood. But here was this woman, smiling warmly at him with a warm look in her eye, even if it was still serious about him getting back into bed.

Her eyes took on a dangerous tone for a moment as she spoke her next words though, "I mean it young man, get back into that bed."

Naruto, suddenly remembering the legendary strength of Tsunade as well as the strength Sakura had before she died, both renowned medic-nins, and he was a blur as he was quickly back in the bed. After all, he really didn't want to be hit by someone who possibly had the potential to send him flying all the way to Suna with a single punch. He had almost completely forgot that Hinata was still on the bed in his blur of movement as he pulled the covers over him, and as a such, her tilted position of her upper body being raised was made unbalanced, making her fall onto Naruto as he had laid back down in the bed.

The other occupants of the room smiled warmly at the rather cute scene, all except Hiashi. His anger skyrocketed at the scene and if it hadn't been for the doctor's and the Hokage's pressence in the room he probably would have struck out at Naruto by now. So it was with great mental restraint that he kept his face neutral for the time be while he cleared his throat, effectvely bringing the attention of the room back to him.

"Hinata, you will come back with me to the house so that we may discuss your recent... actions," Hiashi said in a firm tone, one that left no room for argument. Or so he thought.

Hinata, who had managed to lift herself off Naruto's chest and looked at the man she loved with a slight blush on her face, had her face contort into a scowl as she heard her fathers words, before sitting up properly on the bed so that her legs were hanging over the edge and she was facing Hiashi. Naruto however was between wanting to laugh his ass off and wrapping his arms around Hinata. Scowling was something that was not becoming of the Hyuuga Heiress and for Naruto he could only think that it made her look absolutely adorable.

However what she said next made everyone's jaws fall open in shock.

"No father I will not go back to the Hyuuga's house. I will not go back to a place where my own pressence is barely tolerated. And i most definitely wont go back to a place where the man I love is treated as if he is a piece of trash," Hinata seethed, her voice still at a reasonable level, though her Byakugan had activated. It was fairly obvious it had though to everyone as the young girl had a massive chakra spike that caught everyone in the room off guard.

Hiashi recovered from his shock quickly though as anger washed over him like water washes over a beach in a strom. His Byakugan blazed into life as he barely contained his from yelling.

"You _insolent_ child. I am your father and your clan head and you _will_ do as I say."

The air in the room seemed to drop a few degrees at this point as Hinata's own Byakugan glare took on a murderous edge.

"I will not do a damn thing you say, _Hiashi. _I will not follow the orders of a man who has forced his own daughters apart. I will not listen to a man who puts his own clan before his own family. And I most certainly, will _never_, follow the orders of a man who has requested on more than once occasion to have the son of his best friend killed for the simple fact that he is nothing but a vessel,_"_ Hinata said through clenched teeth, her voice holding a dangerous edge.

The other occupants of the room starred at her in shock once more, their stunned looks obvious on their faces. Naruto was the one that was shocked most of all though.

"_How the hell does she know that?"_ he screamed in his head, but at the same time he realized something he hadn't noticed before.

Besides the facts that Hinata was not stuttering throughout this entire ordeal, and the fact she was seeing entirely out spoken, something he did not remember Hinata having ever done until she was much older, was that her voice had changed. It was much more mature sounding then her normal soft spoken girlish voice. But even as he realized this, he saw the glint of the chain of the necklace he had given her and his eyes opened even farther in shock.

"_Could she have met with **her**__already? But... then why hasn't... wait a second... Gaara has changed a bit as well... could they have... oh shit..."_ Naruto though as he came to a startling revelation. If he was right, then what had happened to him had happened, at least in part, had happened to the other Jinchuuriki. And that fact him wondering exactly how many people were going to be visiting Konoha between now and the finals

But while he came to said revelation, he almost missed the fact that Hiashi's Byakugan seemed to get thicker as his anger skyrocketed even further as the implications of Hinata's words sunk into his head. And it was in this enraged state that he moved to stroke Hinata.

If it had not been for Naruto barely catching the twitch of movement of the older man's body before he struck, Hinata might have been hit with kami knows what from the older Hyuuga.

So it came as a great surprise to Hiashi when his fist had become painfully intercepted by something and with a few blinks of his eyes, he realized that Naruto had moved back out of bed with such speed, even his Byakugan hadn't picked it up, and had blocked his strike towards his daughter. He tried to pull his hand away from said blond but realized with suddenly growing dread that he could not get his hand free.

Naruto had Hiashi's fist held tightly in his own and was slowly crushing the mans had with his own barely controled rage. He could even start to feel the bones in the older mans hands start to strain under the pressure and if it didn't let up soon they were likely to shatter from his insanely strong grip.

"I've had about enough of your crap Hiashi-teme," Naruto growled out dangerously as his eyes changed, making everyone in the room who could see them, that being everyone but the now shocked Hinata behind.

The reason for such was the shape that his eyes took. It was not the slitted blood red ones that he had when he had fought Haku in wave country, though the eye was still red.

Instead of the black slitted pupil though, the pupil change entirely. The main part of it changed into that of a three point shuriken, one point pointing straight up, the other two off and down to the sides.

But it was the things at the ends of these points that made the occupants, especially Hiashi, who was currently starring eye to eye with these newly changed eyes of Naruto's, that made them apprehensive and a bit fearful.

The top most part was something that was easily recognizable, at least to Sarutobi and the Hyuuga head. It was the symbol of the formed Magenkyo Sharingan, the ultimate form of the mirror wheel eye. The bottom right one made Hiashi's face pale a bit more though as he realized what it was. It was the exact same symbol that appeared in Hinata's eyes when she activated her Byakugan.

But above all other, Hiashi paled the most at the sight of the last symbol. It was a simple nine lined spiral, the same one used on the backs of the vest of the shinobi of the leaf Chuunin and up. This symbol itself though, was something Hiashi knew that there only three people in the entire world knew about, one being himself, the other two not having been seen in Konoha for 12 years now.

"_The Tempest Eye..." _Hiashi barely managed to breath out as his entire demeanor switched from one of anger to absolute horror. There had only been one person he had seen have such and eye, and what he could do with said eye were things that had made him who he had become. But even with the knowledge of what each of the three symbols were in Naruto's eyes, it still didn't explain why he had them.

Naruto, seeing that Hiashi was now completely and utterly stunned to the point where he could no longer move his body properly, just released the mans hands from his grip, it falling softly to his side, though now a bit black and blue from the bursted vessels Naruto's grip had caused.

Naruto just turned his head from the man then as he walked back around the bed slowly and stood before the window to the room and placed his hands on the window sill.

"But... how...?" where the only two words Hiashi's mind could register enough for his mouth to speak.

Zabuza and Haku were utterly confused at this point, neither of them, even with the memories Haku had of Naruto from her tennant, had ever seen said eyes on the blond before. Not to mention the name, _The Tempest Eye, _had changed his and Hiashi's moods to do a one eighty. The doctor was just simply befudled by the implications that Hiashi had just stated, and Sarutobi... Sarutobi had a grimace on his face as he watched Naruto walk over to the window sill.

Hinata seemed to be the only one capable of movement or thought at the moment as she removed herself from the bed and padded softly over to Naruto. She came upon his right side and laid her left hand on right shoulder as she leaned a bit forward to see his face. His eyes were closed but the look on his face was most definitely as solemn one, even as he flinched at her soft touch, but soon relaxed.

It was silent in the room for nearly a minute with Hinata standing beside Naruto her hand rubbing small circles on his shoulders as she kept starring at his closed eyes, trying to be reassuring to him as he sorted out his thoughts.

"As you can tell, Hiashi, I am his son," Naruto's voice said suddenly, interrupting the silence and growing tension.

"But at the same time, the Naruto you see before you," he continued as he turned towards Hinata, his eyes back to their intense cerulean blue, and smiled at her slightly for a moment before turning to look at the still thunderstruck Hiashi, "Is not the same Naruto that you, or anyone else in this village knew."

That comment sent Hiashi's mind realing as he tried to process the still overloaded information running through his brain.

"Then who are you?" the doctor asked, her curiosity now peaked just as much as Hiashi's.

Naruto looked to the Hokage, who was smiling albeit somewhat grimly and also nodded at the blond at his unspoken question.

"My birth name is not Uzumaki Naruto. It is Kazama Naruto, and I am not from this world," Naruto stated sadly as more memories flashed through his brain.

So caught up was he with his emotions that he barely registered Hinata's presence next to him as she took his hand and squeezed it softly in a reassuring way.

Hiashi's face stayed the same dumbfounded way while the doctor's eyes bugged out of their sockets.

"_You're_ Arashi's son!" the doctor nearly screeched before suddenly fainting on the spot. Zabuza, being the closest to her, caught her body before it could hit the floor, and just looked at the woman in his arms with an odd expression.

"Who the hell is this woman anyways old man?" Zabuza asked, finally asking the question that had been tickling the back of Naruto's mind.

"Her name is Kuroshi Kanami. She one of only two doctors here who willing will take care of Naruto without having to be reminded that they it is would be high treason if they do not. Oddly enough, she was the person doctor for Arashi as well when Tsunade left," Sarutobi said, his voice saddened and barely a whisper at the end.

Hiashi however wheeled on the Hokage, his fury back in full though no longer any of it towards the blond.

"**_Why in the hell was I never told about this!_**" Hiashi demanded from Sarutobi. The simple though fierce question had both Naruto and Hinata looking at Hiashi in complete and utter confussion.

"This is not the time or the place for such words to be spoken Hiashi," Sarutobi said, his voice serious and truly leaving no room for the argument as he glared at Hiashi. He was the Hokage after all and the list of people whom he let slide, for the most part anyways, on treating him utter disrespect, were very few.

Hiashi's mouth clamped shut at that point before he turned back to back to Naruto. Again the blonds eyes were closed as his head was leaning forward, his bangs only just barely shadowing his face form normal sight.

But even as Naruto tried to calm his shaking nerves, and his body was shaking he realized as Hinata squeezed his hand again reassuringly, he could feel the presence of the Kyuubi start to rise within him. It wasn't the same as when he usually drew upon the demons chakra in battle, the terrifying and overwhelming power that made him feel almost invincible, felt calm and relaxed for once, and seemed to just flow out of Naruto naturally.

So it was with great shock to all, including Naruto, when a red mist seeped out of his body and towards the once occupied bed. It's original size was large at first, the mist blanketing over the bed and several feet away onto the floor, but it quickly started to condense as compact as it all swirled together in a small ball on the bed.

When the mist had completely shrouded the now compact ball though, it exploded slightly in a cloud of red smoke. The smoke cleared quickly from the spot the ball had been at and what was there was the small fox form of the Kyuubi, his nine tails, though small, swaying behind him as he glared at the Hyuuga Clan head.

Most in the room were slightly stunned to see the fox outside of Naruto, Naruto being so because he didn't remember Kyuubi being able to do that without one of his shadows clones. Hiashi though was down right frightened as he starred at the, though incredibly smaller since the last time he saw him, nine tailed fox. Hinata was probably the only one in the entire room that was struck in shock or fear, and if it wasn't for that atmosphere, she probably would have squealed and rushed to cuddle the Kyuubi.

After all, it was the size of a baby fox and the glare it was giving could only be described as unbearably cute. Not to mention the nine tails swaying behind it made it look even cuter and the fact that it looked incredibly soft as well.

But soon her shock soon entered her as the Kyuubi's mouth opened slightly at the side and a deep voice echoed out in the room.

"You and I have some things to discuss, Hyuuga," Kyuubi said, his voice clearly annoyed at something, though Naruto and Haku had a thought pop into the back of their heads as to why.

The Hyuuga paled even greater at the Kyuubi's words. But his sudden fear was rightly placed, at least in his own mind, for he was being addressed by the greatest of the tailed demons. Add that to the fact that he was pissed about something, AND the fact that the Kyuubi was supposed to be sealed within Naruto, though was now standing in a small for in front of him, had him on the verge of a mental breakdown from all of the things that had happened that day so far.

The Kyuubi, not waiting for a response, hoped off the bed and landed gracefully on the ground, though Naruto noted the slight cringe of the foxes face as he landed as well as that the Kyuubi was slightly smaller than when they had gone into the chamber of the spirits.

"Follow me Hyuuga," the voice echoed out again as the fox walked quickly towards the door before stopping and looking back at Naruto, "And kit..."

Naruto locked eyes with the demon as to show the fox had his attnetion.

"... You need to tell them about what they saw," the Kyuubi stated before glancing up at Hiashi one last time, as if daring the Hyuuga to _not_ follow him.

Hiashi didn't want to follow the Kyuubi, nor did he wish to discuss anything with it. But the problem was his body seemed to move on its own accord as his thoughts battled for dominance against his rising confusion. Quickly, both Hiashi and the Kyuubi had left the room. Sarutobi though, in hindsight as he watched the two leave asked Haku to go with them to make sure the Kyuubi didn't suddenly start a mass panic as people saw them, as well as to lead them to a safe place within the hospital where the two could chat.

But once the door had closed leaving only Sarutobi, Hinata, Zabuza, and Naruto in the room, Naruto's steel will seemed to melt in a heartbeat as his body went limp and he crashed to his hands and knees in a heap. Tears started to come as his body was shaking violently.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata gasped out in shock as she quickly was on the ground beside the blond, a hand on his back and another on one of his shaking arms.

But those were the only words spoken for what seemed like an enternity as the blond reeled in his emotions with great effort, though he had to admit in hind sight he might not have been able to while still awake if it hadn't been for Hinata.

"Are you alright Naruto-kun?" Sarutobi asked quietly as he watched the blond stand back up with Hinata's help. The blond didn't answer right off the bat as he was helped back towards the bed where he sat down.

"As much as I can be, Oji-san," Naruto said, his voice tired and for the first time since his soul had come back, not covered with his attempt to make his voice sound younger. His voice was deep and rugged, but at the same time it held a softness that was so much like Sarutobi's when he was trying to comfort someone.

IF the old man was shocked though by Naruto's change in voice though, he didn't show it all. He was becoming slightly immune to the shocks the blond Ninja kept throwing at him though some of them were still surprising enough to get him every now and then. He was the number one most surprising shinobi in Konoha, probably in all the nations, after all.

"What did he mean by tell us about what we saw Naruto-kun?" Sarutobi asked gently, noting that the blond flinched at the question before taking a deep break and letting it out shakily.

"What you guys saw, those bits and pieces of scenes... those were all my memories. Everything you saw, every little detail... they are all mine..." Naruto managed to get out his voice restrained and only just above a whisper. Hinata who was sitting next to him gave his hand, shoulder a squeeze.

"Then... everything was... that was all you?" Zabuza asked, the events of the brutal massacre scene suddenly coming to the forefront of his mind. He had earned his reputation as the demon of the bloody mist for his slaughter of an entire graduating gennin class but even what he saw had happened had made him feel uneasy and nauseas.

Naruto only nodded as his body started to shake slightly as his mind was replaying the horrible memories again.

"What exactly happened to us?" Sarutobi asked, realizing that the entire time in those memories the hokage had never been shown but the only person he had seen in his memories was one of his students. Though he had noted that he had seen the presence of two of his students with Naruto's mind as well, but they both seemed to have been in their own world the entire time while they were viewing the memories like the rest of them.

This question though made Naruto pale significantly.

"I... I k-killed everyone... everyone who was still alive... and I... I burnt most of the shinobi countries to the ground," Naruto said his body ow shaking violently as his eye were closed fiercly, memories flashing before his minds eye.

Phantom screams for help, shouts of _demon_, yells for aid... all these noises were playing back with the memories in excruciating detail, making his heart ache badly.

So wrapped up was he in his memories though he jumped when he felt a pair of arms encircle him. They were strong and firm but at the same time gentle and caring. It took his mind nearly a minute to process that it was the Hokage who was suddenly hugging him, Hinata just barely off to the side, though her hand had laced with his and was squeezing it reassuringly.

"But you are here now Naruto," Sarutobi said as he pulled back slightly from the hug so that his hands were on Naruto's shoulders and he was squatting slightly to look at the shocked teary sapphire blue eyes of the blond, "And from what I can gather you are trying to make this path a better one for all of us. You are trying to set right all the wrongs that occurred from whence you came and at the same time shouldering another heavy burden upon yourself."

The words calmed Naruto down greatly and the blond felt a genuine smile start to creep across his face as a few more tears streaked his face. These tears were ones of joy though as his smile grew to be from ear to ear.

"Thanks Oji-san," Naruto said with his big foxy grin.

It was silent for a moment before the Hokage spoke again with a large grin, "Your father would be proud of you Naruto, just as I am."

Naruto's smile somehow got even bigger at the genuine praise, a warm feeling suddenly coming back into the previously somber room.

But even as it came back a thought suddenly dawned on Naruto as his face turned to one of shock.

"Oh kami-sama," Naruto gasped out as the color started to pale from his face again.

Sarutobi was a bit confused at Naruto's actions, as were the still concerned though silent Hinata. Zabuza though was looking at the blond and if his mask had been down they would have seen a smirk.

"She's safe brat. We brought her back with you once you passed out," the former mist nin said and a look of relief passed over Naruto as a look of realization passed of Sarutobi.

"Oji-san..." Naruto started to ask if he could go see the woman that was supposedly his mother, but was cut off as a hand was placed back on his shoulder.

"She's asleep Naruto. She woke for a short time but is unconscious once again. It seems that her body is incredibly weak still from your birth but she is good hands here. But your body is weak as well still and you need to rest, even with the healing powers that you have."

Naruto starred at the Hokage for a moment before sighing sadly and slumped against the bed in resignation, thought he had crossed his arms across his chest and was pouting as well.

Sarutobi smiled warmly at the rather childish though amusing scene of the blond. He then took a look outside and noted that it was probably a bit passed one in the morning now from the position of the full moon.

"Well it is getting late Naruto, you should probably get back into bed and rest," he said softly as a small smile crept across the blonds face.

Naruto nodded once before turning quickly to look outside as well to take note of the time. But at the sight of the fool moon, realization struck him and he spun back to the Hokage.

"Oji-san, where is Hayate-san right now?" Naruto asked a bit frantically.

Sarutobi blinked a few times being caught of guard by the again sudden change of emotion of the blond.

"He is scouting the village as his job at this time of night," he said and noticed the blonds face loosing color again which brough his next question, "Naruto, what happens to Hayate-san."

"He's killed before he can make it back to you to report something. I remember it being something that a female purple haired ANBU told me once when she was trying to teach me," Naruto said, his mind slipping on the name of the ANBU, "She was really upset that he had been killed."

Sarutobi nodded as he stood back up to his fool height and turned to walk towards the door. "Zabuza, place Kanami-chan with the other nurses. Then come to my office."

The mist nin, though a bit confused at the moment nodded before vanishing a plume of smoke. It was then Sarutobi looked back at the still sad looking Naruto as it was obvious a few memories had resurfaced in the short amount of time.

"Rest well you two. I will see you both tomorrow," Sarutobi saidbefore he too vanished, though his was in a swirl of leaves that appeared out of nowhere and vanished just the same.

Naruto blinked twice at the spot the two older ninja had been before the Hokage's words entered his head. Try as he might, he couldn't help but feel his face flush a little at what the Hokage had said. But even as he realized it, her turned to Hinata, who was already looking at him with a sad look in her eyes. But it wasn't one of sympathy. It was one of understand and of their own hurt.

It was then that what the girl had said early played back in his mind as well as the sequence of thoughts his mind had taken as well.

"So _she's_ talked to you already?" Naruto asked, his voice resigned once more.

It was silent as Hinata moved off the bed to stand in front of the blond the same way Sarutobi had not just a few minutes prior. The smaller girl took Naruto's hands in hers as she let out a shaky breath she didn't know she had been holding as she starring into his now dull and saddened eyes.

"Yes, she did Naruto-kun but..." she said but stopped as he turned his gaze away from hers and looked at the floor, a tear leaking out of the eye she could no longer see.

"Then you know of everything that's happened as well?" Naruto asked, his voice now just barely audible.

Hinata sighed at his tense and sad voice before she removed on of her hands from her grasp on his and reached up to his face. Gently she lifted and turned his face to look at her, her heart aching as she saw his saddened expression and the tears now slowly leaking out of his eyes.

"Yes, but she also brought with her a piece of my former soul as well. I have all the memories of the Hinata you once knew as well as the ones from now. It's all confusing to me as I am sure it to you, but know this Naruto," she said firmly but softly as she removed her other hand from Naruto's and brought it to his face as well as she wiped away a few stray tears.

Naruto eyes were open wide with a sad look as she had stopped talking. He suddenly had a feeling of dread rush over him as his mind blurred with thoughts, none of the pleasant. But what she said and did next halted all mental functions the blond had.

With her two soft hands she had brought his face to hers and place her lips upon his in a soft but passionate kiss. Naruto's eyes widened greatly at Hinata's actions but he found himself enjoying the sensation. It was soft a delicate, much like how Hinata was, but at the same time it conveyed just how much the white eyed girl before him cared for him.

The the kiss only lasted for a few moments, Naruto had a feeling he would remember it until the end of his days and on into the next life.

But as Hinata pulled back from the kiss, her face slightly flushed with realization of what she had done, she said, "I told you once before Naruto-kun, and I will say it again. I love you, no matter who or what you are. You are not the demon that is sealed within in you, you are not the monster created to be a weapon. You are just Naruto-kun, the same loud blond who never gives up on anything and would give his life for those precious to him."

Naruto's eyes were wide as was his mouth a the Hyuuga Heiress' words. But even as the shock he had felt started to register in his brain, he felt a sensation of warmth he had not felt before. He didn't know what this new feeling was at all, but he sure as hell liked it and didn't want it to go away.

And it was said thoughts that he pulled Hinata into another hug while at the same time crashing his lips against hers again as he gave her another passionate kiss.

Just outside the door, Haku smiled at the cute seen of the couple as they kissed as did the kit form of the Kyuubi that was on her shoulder.

"**It's about damn time,**" the Kyuubi said softly from his perch as he gazed at the two love birds.

"So the great lord of all demons has a soft side does he?" Haku giggled as she moved away from the doorway to stand guard over the door as well as to give the two some privacy.

The Kyuubi groweled slightly as it flicked its tail at Haku's face from his perch which only served to make the girl giggle more at the Kyuubi's actions.

But the grin the Kyuubi had, even if he did growl in a annoyance, was unmistakeable.

"_**Maybe finally he can start to come to terms with everything hes done now,**"_Kyuubi thought to himself as he thought back to the two.


	9. One's Mind

A/N: Sorry for the length between my last update and this one. Been very busy with being back in college and things around my house so I haven't had a whole lot of time to myself to write. That and I just couldn't come up with a way to finish this chapter. Anyways, here's the next installment of The Heavens Curse. Enjoy (.) 

The Heavens Curse

Chapter 8: One's Mind

Sasuke liked to think of himself as a level headed person, someone who it was hard to surprise as well as to out think. He prided himself in being someone who could analyze a situation with unnerving clarity and find out all the small little details that were trying to be hidden. It was in his blood after all, he was an Uchiha. He was born of a clan that had the powerful _Mirror Wheel Eye,_ the Sharingan, which could analyze anything greater and faster than any other living thing on the planet that wasn't a natural born genius.

And yet, he couldn't for the life of him bring his sense to even think properly anymore. It had been two days since he had seen... he wasn't sure exactly what he had seen, but whatever it was those scenes kept flashing through his brain.

It didn't help any either that Kakashi had seemed to have vanished as well once they stepped within the village. Sasuke had been so sick when he had awoken he had vomited violently as the images flashed before his eyes, but his body was also excruciatingly exhausted as well. Kakashi though looked to have recovered almost instantly after waking up but as well had a blank expression. He normally had that expression as is but something about the way it was told the Uchiha that he was far from being neutral. But the Jounin had seen the condition Sasuke was in and without a word, picked the Uchiha up and teleported back to Konoha in a swirl of leaves.

They had arrived, much toe Sasuke's shock, in Sasuke's own apartment where Kakashi dumped him on his bed before vanishing again. And that was the last the Uchiha had seen of his cyclops sensei.

But none of that was as important, though he figured it might be connected to, as what he had seen two days ago.

The sight of himself, twisted and demonic looking, ramming his hand through his best friends chest, was something that wouldn't leave his head. Worse than that was him in an even more twisted looking form ramming the same attack he had apparently been trying to kill Naruto with, through the one girl in all of Konoha that he actually could stand somewhat. Yes he could stand the Hyuuga girl, but that was because he had seen how infatuated the Hyuuga Heiress was with his blond haired team mate.

The site of the blood pouring out from her lips as she begged him and Naruto to stop fighting and her blank sea green eyes as she had died in Naruto's arms while looking at him made his heart ache in a long time.

Sasuke's thoughts though were suddenly dulled as bile rose in his throat and he scrambled for his bathroom before emptying his stomach in the toilet. He heaved up the small amount of food he had had for dinner the night before and after a minute or two finally stopped. His body was shaking and the cool night air seemed much colder against his sweat soaked skin from his nightmare and throwing up.

Shakily he stood back on his feet and flushed his toilet before moving to the sink and washing his face of some of the stuff left on his face. Once that was done he grabbed on of his towels and started to wipe himself down from the sweat as walked back into his room and looked out the window. The moon was just waning from its fullness and cast a glow that calmed his still shaky muscles somewhat. But at the same time it illuminated one of the only two pictures he had in his entire apartment.

This particular one was of his team and he walked up to his quietly before lifting it from its stand to look at it. As he gazed at the picture, the exact same one of the one he had found in Naruto's apartment, he sighed as he looked at his two team mates.

He couldn't help but smirk slightly at the goofy grin Naruto had. It was rather amusing watching the blond and his antics, even if they were more obnoxious than anything, even more so if on the receiving end of one of his pranks. But hell would freeze over before he admitted that to anyone.

But then his gaze fell upon Sakura again and the memory of her death flashed before his eyes again, making the same pain in his heart come back. In the picture her hair was long, though now she had her hair cut, though he couldn't for the life of him remember when she had cut it or why. And the soft, and he had to admit rather beautiful smile, she had on as well only served to make the pain in his heart increase as the scene flashed again, only this time the following scenes with that weird snake guy showing up as well.

He felt a pulse at the base of his neck and reach up subconsciously to rub the place where he had been bitten and where that cursed seal had been put on him. The thought of the seal being his road to power had intrigued him the second he had awoken from his nightmare after being bitten, but now... after seeing those scenes... he felt that he somehow needed to get rid of what had been placed upon him.

The seal was vile yes, that much he could already tell, as well as the slight whisper in his head egging him on towards power. But none of that mattered to him at the moment. What he had seen... the death of one of his friends... his own demonic look... they frightened him to no end as memories of his brother the night of the Uchiha Massacre happened flashed through his eyes as well.

"_Could I have possibly done those things..."_ Sasuke thought solemnly as he reached out and touched the glass over Sakura's cheek.

He let out a shaky breath he didn't know he had been holding in as he looked out of his apartment window again at the moon. Its mystic sight helped calm his still shaky nerves even more and it was in that moment that his decided upon something.

What ever he had seen, Naruto was involved, and he had a gut feeling that this changed Naruto that had sprung up on them was holding all the cards, so to speak, to all of his questions. He decided that come morning, he would have to track the blond down and confront him, even as his gut was telling him the confrontation might not end the way he hoped too.

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It was morning when Hinata awoke in the same place she had for the past three days. She had stayed with Naruto in the hospital, though a cot was brought into the room for her to sleep on, and made sure along with the nurse Kanami that Naruto actually rested. Between the two of them, Naruto actually felt like staying in the hospital to heal. Well, that and the fact that even with the Kyuubi's regenerative powers, Naruto's healing was no where near as fast as it could have been. And as such, it required him to be in the hospital for at least three days.

What ever had caused the back lash of chakra that he had emitted that day had damn near killed him he had found out. But Naruto brushed of his near death encounter like it was nothing and instead enjoyed the peace he finally had in the hospital. And he most assuredly enjoyed it for once. It actually felt nice being in there when someone was there to look out for him, and Hinata being there made it that much better for him.

And now, as Hinata woke up and looked over to where the blond was asleep, she couldn't help but smile the same smile that had been plastered on her face since two days ago. The two had talked long into the night after their first kiss, only being briefly interrupted by Kyuubi who had came walking back in on his own and with, and there was no other way to describe it, a large grin.

He had said nothing to the two, only nodded at Naruto in a knowing way before vanishing into the red mist that he had come from that had quickly returned to Naruto. After that, the two had continued their talk again.

It revolved mostly around what had happened to the world that Naruto remembered, with still a lot of details being left out, for _fear of something making things worse_ as Naruto had put it. Hinata had been a little sad that he wouldn't speak about some of the events that she had scene but she realized a great deal why. Some of those memories... no one should have ever have had to go through them. But Naruto was here fighting for a second chance to keep those events from happening again.

The most shocking thing they talked about though, were the tattoos on Naruto's body. Even now as she gazed at the slightly snoring blond she could see the names on his right arm, people he considered his brothers. She remembered being probably too curious for her own good when she asked about the names he had on him all together though, especially seeing her own name under the _My Family_ part of his tattoos.

But when she had asked Naruto about them, considering she had no real memory of them in any of her memories except for seeing what she had during his fight with Kiba, he had stiffened as a sad look came across his face.

"_They are reminders as well as being on of honor of those they name,"_ he had said, his voice tense and pained.

Hinata frowned at the memory of how sad Naruto looked when he said that and he had only cheered up when she had laid a hand of his and squeezed it affectionately as well comfortingly. After that though, the two found themselves surprisingly just relaxing in each others company with the occasional check up from Kanami.

Naruto at first was still stunned by the doctors warmth towards him. Her kind words, her soft, though scarily firm, words that made him actually want to spend time in the hospital helped as well. But the most surprising thing was when she had taken him and Hinata, at Naruto's request, to go see his mother.

Naruto was a bit angry at first when they came to her room, it being isolated from the rest of the rooms off in a far corner of the hospital normally reserved for quarantined people who had an unknown disease. But Kanami had reassured the blond by informing him the only people who actually knew who the woman was were her, the Hokage, Zabuza, and Haku.

Hinata smiled at the memory of when Naruto actually stepped foot into the room of Kazama Motoko, his mother.

**FLASHBACK**

"_Kaa-chan..." Naruto whispered out after stepping into the slightly darkened room. There was a solitary window to the room with drapes that were partial closed letting in the light from midday dance with the shadowed room. The only other light that was in it was the glow emitted from the many machines that were aglow._

_Hinata gave Naruto's hand a soft squeeze before letting go for the blond to walk up closer to the bed of someone he had never known. She was still unconscious, though Kanami had said she was not in a coma, but would probably remain unconscious until her body recovered a bit more._

_But even though the woman was unconscious, it looked like she was sleeping peacefully. With hesitant steps Naruto ended up on the right side of her bed and looked at the face of his mother. It was soft and delicate, much how he had imagined for so many years. Her purple hair had been combed out and tied into a low pony tail, no doubt the work of Kanami, that rested over her right shoulder for the time be and extended about a foot farther than that._

_Her hands where placed neatly at her sides and Naruto gingerly reached out and grasped his mothers right hand._

_He tried to think of something to say, but no words came to him. His eye watered slightly and his body shook slightly with quiet sobs. Hinata moved up next to him and took his other hand gently with her left one and placing her right hand on his shoulder. No words were spoken at all, but none were needed as Naruto looked at the calm face of his mother, a woman he had never known and had only dreamed of meeting._

**END FLASHBACK**

Soon after that memory though Naruto started to stir, swatting slightly at the light that was 'attacking' his eyes. Hinata giggled at the amusing scene and the noise seem to be what brought Naruto into full wakefulness.

He turned his head over to look at the Hyuuga Heiress and smiled his fox like grin.

"'Morning Hinata-chan," he greeted with his grin only getting larger.

Hinata giggled again at the man she loved before returning his greeting.

"Good morning Naruto-kun. Sleep well?" she asked and he nodded before sitting up in the bed, his blankets falling off to reveal his bare, tattooed upper body. He stretched slightly with a few pops to accompanying it as his joints readjusted.

Hinata like wise sat up in her bed, though her being more clothed than Naruto. This was courtesy of Kanami as she had brought the girl some pajamas to where since she refused to go back to the Hyuuga compound as well as leave Naruto's side.

But even as the two sat up, Naruto went to the bathroom to shower and change, reappearing rather quickly before Hinata grabbed her own day clothes and did the same. While Hinata was in the shower, Kanami came in a found Naruto standing at the window, which was wide open with the drapes pulled back.

He was dressed in the same attire he had been wearing when he was brought into the hospital and stood with his hands clasped behind his back and his eyes closed. There was a slight morning breeze coming through the window, though the only way you could tell was from the ruffling of Naruto's hair, which he had moved down to a low ponytail instead of keeping it high like he had before.

"I see you are feeling much better today," Kanami commented as she walked closer to the blond.

Naruto didn't even twitch a muscles as she stopped next to him.

"I'm normally out of here after a bout a nights sleep usually, if I'm not ejected sooner that is," Naruto said, still with closed eyes facing the open window.

Kanami just sighed at his words. It was true that most of the villagers hated him and would have almost nothing to do with him, but for a doctor to refuse a patient, no matter what they personally believed the patient to be, were supposed to take care of those in need.

"I wish Tsunade-sama were here," Kanami said sadly as she too looked out the window, missing the fact that Naruto's eyes were now open and looking at her questioningly. But even though she missed his look she kept talking, "Then maybe the other doctors here could finally see the wrong they have done. They made an oath to help anyone in need as it is."

Naruto couldn't help but grin at Kanami's words as a memory of what Tsunade was capable of came back to him. She had been down right pissed when she had been told by a doctor he refused to help Naruto because he though he was a demon and the doctor soon found himself on the wrong end of Tsunade's wrath.

While the rather amusing memory faded though, Hinata finally came out of the bathroom, changed back into her black shorts and baggy jacket with her symbol on the shoulders and back. Her hair, which was now down to just past her shoulders, something that had happened pretty much overnight after the incident with Hiashi, was being dried off with a towel as she walked up towards Naruto and Kanami.

"Ohayo Kanami-chan," she greeted the doctor with a soft, warm smile.

Kanami likewise smiled in a similar manner before turning back to Naruto.

"So are you ready to leave today Naruto-kun?"

Kanami had to blink a few times from how fast Naruto's head spun around to stare at her. When she did finally realize he hadn't actually snapped his neck at that speed she saw two conflicting emotions on his face.

One side of him obviously was ecstatic about being able to leave. Even though she knew this had probably been the best time he had ever spent in a hospital, he was still not fond of the place. That side of him looked as if he was ready to start shouting for joy and doing back flips around the room.

The other part of him though looked torn to leave the place. And Kanami had an idea as to exactly why seeing as Motoko was still unconscious. The sun kissed blond haired gennin wanted to be near his mother in case anything changed.

It was with that in mind that Kanami smiled softly at the gennin and said, "Don't worry Naruto-kun, I will take great care of you Oka-san for you. And any time you want to visit just come by okay?"

That seemed to do it and before she knew it, Kanami was wrapped in a strong hug from the blond as she was lifted off her feet and twirled around. Hinata giggled at the cute scene before her as Naruto stopped twirling the now slightly dizzy Kanami around and set her down. He didn't let go of her initially though and let her regain some of her bearings before she stepped back from him a gentle, and somewhat mischievous smile on her face.

"Keep that up and you'll be back in that bed mister," she said in a half serious tone but it had the desired effect none the less.

Naruto snapped himself to attention as if he had been commanded by the Hokage. Well if he actually ever stood at attention in front of the old man anyways. The only difference being though that he had on a large foxy grin and gave a one fingered salute before bolt from the room, grabbing a surprised but still giggling Hinata before vanishing from sight. Once their presence could no longer be felt by the medi-nin, Kanami walked over to the towel that had dropped on the floor. She bent down at her knees and grabbed the damp cloth before walking back to the window. Once there she could already see Naruto outside, Hinata now beside him running as well, both of their laughter reaching her eyes slightly before they vanish into the hustle and bustle of the city beyond.

She sighed slightly after they had left her sight and looked to where she knew Motoko's room was before thinking, "_Get well soon Motoko-chan. Your son needs you and Hinata-chan now more than ever."_

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"It's been a while you three," Sarutobi stated from his chair, the sun fairly high in the air already, its light keeping the room fairly lit.

Currently he was addressing the three cloaked people from Kamigakure in front of him. All three had their hoods up now, the only distinguishing marks being what the cloaks revealed of their body frames and the embroidery on their backs.

Currently all three of them were tied up in chairs facing the Hokage their arms and hands bound tightly behind their backs, the sticks that the three had attained somehow during their brief moments of consciousness at the hospital were laid out on Sarutobi's desk.

The three people bound twitched slightly at being addressed, the man in the dragon cloak groaning slightly in pain. His groaning instantly stopped as one of the two ANBU behind him smacked him upside the head just hard enough to jostle his head and to get to the point of answering Sarutobi.

Katsuhito, as the dragon cloaked man had been called, turned his head slightly to the side and a glint of eyes flashed from behind the darkness of his hood. The two ANBU, both with the swirling wave shaped masks, one female the other male, just chuckled at the sight.

"Intimidation moves wont work on us brat," the male voice out.

Katsuhito just moved his head back to face the Hokage. And just as he did, the two red cloud cloaked instructors appeared on either side behind the Hokage. Their bells jingled only just as their hands moved in a blur of movement. Both the ANBU and the three cloak figures tensed as the other two cloaked figures hands were now where Sarutobi's chest was, kunai in their hands, stabbed into the Hokage.

Or what used to be the Hokage.

In a poof of smoke the Hokage was changed with a drawer from his own desk and the actual Hokage was standing behind his own chair a kunai in either of his hands just barely touching the underside of the necks of his two would be attackers.

"You know... I may be old but my hearing is just as good as when I was in my prime," the Hokage said, and is off on cue the two bells that hung from the cloaked shinobi's hats chimed once.

"Heh, not bad for an old man. I'm rather impressed," the tall cloaked man stated as h stood back up, his face still hidden by his straw hat. The shorter one stood back up as well, though said nothing, and both still had a kunai at their throats.

Somehow, the bells chimed once more and the Hokage chuckled slightly before the Kunai in his hand vanished.

"It is good to see all of you once again I must say," Sarutobi stated once the Kunai had vanished and as the two cloaked shinobi went to stand in front of his desk and in front of the other three bound shinobi.

Sarutobi however turned towards the taller man with a questioning look before saying, "You though are a new addition."

"You can blame that blond hair gaki. I've had... an eye opener of sorts," the tall man said, his voice sounding rather amused and annoyed at the same time.

His head and the shorter mans head snapped around though as the ANBU behind them spoke.

"Kisame?"

"How the hell did you know my... wait a second... I know that voice..." the tall man said as he removed his hat to reveal the shark like appearance of Hoshigame Kisame.

"Well this is an odd meeting place... isn't it... Kisame..." the male ANBU said before reaching up and pulling his wave like mask of to reveal the bandaged face of Zabuza.

"Momochi Zabuza... I would have never thought you so... lax to join Konoha..." Kisame taunted with a toothy smirk.

A spike of killing intent from the shorter cloaked man though had the two ex-mist nin stop their taunting of each other and turn to look at him.

"That is enough Kisame."

"Figures you'd be the one with a rod crammed up his ass. Can't even give a guy a chance to have fun with an old acquaintance," Kisame snorted as he crossed his arms in annoyance.

Another spike of killing intent had the nuke-nin flinch before snorting and saying, "Fine, fine."

Sarutobi throughout the brief encounter only chuckled at the amusing scene. He still was a bit tense from seeing Kisame, knowing full well the missing nin's exploits, but at the same time calm considering who he was currently in the company of.

"Either way, it is good to have you back in Konoha for at least a time, Uchiha Itachi," Sarutobi said and watched passively as the shorter man removed his hat to reveal that he was indeed Uchiha Itachi.

"We are here only for a time Hokage-sama," Itachi said and bowed briefly.

"I'm assuming you mean all five of you?" Sarutobi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, these three will remain here. They have found what they were looking to find as it is before that... incident," Itachi said as he turned back to the three and leveled a fierce glare on them, making all three of them shift uncomfortably in their seats.

Sarutobi's eyes widened at the statement though as he moved his gaze to the other three cloaked shinobi. He motioned for Haku and Zabuza to release them from their bindings, which fell to the floor the second he made the signal.

The three instantly stood up and moved away from the to stand by Itachi and Kisame, all three of them rubbing at their sore wrists.

"You could have made those ropes a little less tight you know," Katsuhito grumbled under his breath but flinch as Itachi glared directly at him.

"You three can remove your hoods when in hear you know," Sarutobi stated, though a bit rough implying subtly for the three to remove their hoods regardless of whether they wanted to keep them on or not.

All three of them just sighed slightly before complying and removing their hoods. When they had, Sarutobi gained a soft smile on his face.

"It is truly good to see you again Harry, Draco, and Hermione," he greeted softly nodding first to the phoenix cloaked man, then the dragon one, and then finally the female of the group.

"It has been a while Sarutobi," Harry said with his own small smile before bowing low in respect to the older man.

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Naruto was smiling to himself as he walked down the streets of Konoha. He really didn't have any particular place in mind as he was letting his mind wander to senseless and unimportant things while taking in the sights of the busy ninja village. He was still glared at and whispered, that much he had expected from the villagers but there was also a fair deal of them that were ignoring him as they businesses were booming from the influx of people wanting to see the final matches of the Chuunin exam.

But the thought of the matches, or what was to follow them didn't bring his spirits down, even with still some of the villagers still glaring at him, he didn't care. He was for once, truly and genuinely happy. He had just left Hinata back at her clans compound, only at her own request though as she had stated she needed to... discuss some things with her father. He had been worried when she had said that but the Hyuuga heiress had assured him everything would be fine and given him a brief kiss to help that assurance before vanishing behind the Hyuuga Compounds gates.

And it was on this thought that Naruto found himself wandering into Training Ground 7, and found a forlorn looking Kakashi standing before the memorial stone. The sight of the cycloptic Jounin threw Naruto off for a moment for he could not remember ever when the perpetually bored Jounin looked anything but bored, shocked from something, or angered by something else.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto called out as he walked up to the side of the Jounin.

Kakashi, for all his exploits, was slightly surprised to have been caught off guard by Naruto and jumped slightly at his voice before realizing who was talking to him.

"Yes Naruto?" he asked, his own voice sounding as depressed as he looked.

"Shouldn't you bee training Sasuke at the moment instead of standing here remembering..." Naruto said as he too started to stare at the stone, a few memories flashing through his own head.

Though those memories came to a blinding halt as he heard a ragged breath and sigh come from Kakashi. It sounded almost as if the Jounin had been crying.

"I will not teach someone who will so willingly forget the very lesson I first taught them."

Naruto head turned and starred at his cycloptic sensei before realization struck him.

"_Those who don't follow the rules are trash... but those who abandon and betray their friends are worse than trash."_

The words struck a cord in Naruto as he remembered the scenes with Sasuke fighting him. Or rather the scenes where Sasuke was using the Chidori, Kakashi's own original jutsu, against his own teammates. That simple fact had to have shaken the the silver haired man and it explained why he was standing her before the memorial stone. This was the place where he remembered all of the ones he lost, especially the ones closest to him.

It was along those thoughts that Naruto stepped forwards and knelt before the stone. He ran his thumb across a particular name that he knew would be there, even though it was almost gone from the years since it had been carved into the stone.

"Do you know what Orochimaru's cursed seals even do Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked after a few minutes of silence. The feeling of the white haired Jounin tensing behind him was all he needed for an answer before continuing, "It's something similar to a poison, hence why he needs to bite someone to give them his 'gift' as he calls it. What it does is implant a type of hallucinogen within the persons blood while at the same time forming a seal of a particular type that carries over a piece of his soul. If the person implanted with the seal falls prey to the suggestions within their subconscious, they become twisted, like you saw happen to Sasuke. But each seal is different as they each carry over a precise amount of chakra from that teme that over time, takes over their own though adding what they already had to what the seal has. And each seal also carries over a certain amount of his soul. So if someone can actually survive the poison from the hallucinogen running through their veins as well as the initial fusing of the soul and chakra, their minds become warped to a certain degree."

Naruto paused for a moment to stand and turn to face Kakashi to judge his reaction. To Naruto's surprise, the Jounin didn't looked shocked at all but had a rather contemplating look on his face as he stared at the serious blond in front of him.

"But that would mean the seal could never be removed wouldn't it? It sounds almost exactly like what Yondaime-sama..." Kakashi questioned but stopped his line of speech as he saw Naruto flinch as he started to mention what the Yondaime-had done to Naruto.

"Yes, it is similar to the Shiki Fuujin," Naruto stated as he turned his head skywards, "but it not anything like the seal placed upon me. My seal was built as a buffer for the Kyuubi's chakra so that the sheer amount didn't overwhelm and consume me as well as act like a filter to, over time, fuse Kyuubi's chakra with mine. The cursed seals Orochimaru uses, only attain such a vile state once the bearer of one succumbs to the suggestions and unlocks what is called stage two of the seal. That stage unlocks what you saw Sasuke become."

"Then Anko and Sasuke..."

"... Are fine, at least in Anko's case anyways. Anko-chan wants nothing more than to see Orochimaru's head on a pike while Sasuke... Sasuke seeks a meaning less quest..." Naruto said as he turned his head back down.

"Then you know what his _ambition_ is?" Kakashi asked with an emphasis on his students repetitive choice of wording for what he had planned in life.

"His ambition to kill Itachi is as pointless as it is to describe why the sky is blue," Naruto said with a dead panned expression and for a brief moment he saw a corner of the masked Jounin's face twitch as if he was suddenly trying to fight down the urge to laugh.

And Kakashi was trying to fight down the urge to chuckle but regained enough of himself to ask, "And how is it you know that."

With another sigh and a down cast look he turned back to look not at the stone but the small section of Konoha that could be seen from Training Ground 7.

"Because... if that is the way things must be done... then I should level Konoha to the ground and kill everyone in it..." he said in a quiet voice.

That had Kakashi's jaw visibly drop within his mask. What ever it was he had been expecting, it most definitely had not been that. But as he thought upon what Naruto had said, he began to realize that what Naruto said was the truth.

Sasuke wanted to kill his brother for the sole purpose of the pain that had been inflicted upon him by Itachi. The pain of loosing your entire family and clan at the hands of your own brother and then being forced to watch how they all died through use of the Magenkyo Sharingan... it was a pain that at the most rivaled what Naruto had to go through on a daily basis in the village.

The villagers held him with contempt at best and out right fury at worst. He had had to deal with assassination attempts on him ever since he was young and daily he had to deal with a throng of adults that would glare at him. Add on top of that that most of the adults with children told them to hate and despise Naruto for no other reason that to do it just because, though they would be executed if they had said the real reason why the children should hate Naruto. Having to deal with such a burden... it made the Jounin wonder how exactly Naruto had managed to survive this long as well as gain the dream of wanting to become the kage of the very village that hated him.

But his thoughts were halted once more as the blond in front of him started to walk off while slightly looking over his left shoulder and saying, "Do yourself and Konoha a favor Kakashi-sensei and keep teaching Sasuke. If what happened before happens again..."

"... _I don't know what it would take to bring that teme down again_," he added in thought after his speech, leaving Kakashi stunned at the blond's words.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&**

Naruto sighed for the somewhere around the hundredth time since leaving Kakashi at the memorial stone. His mood was great until he had seen his sensei, and while he didn't blame his sensei for ruining his good mood, he did blame him for causing what _had_ changed his mood. His memories were things he really didn't want to relive in any way shape or form and even just mentioning them would bring them back full force to the front of his mind and send his mood plummeting.

He huffed in annoyance as he absent absentmindedly scuttled a rock across the ground with his foot as he wandered through the still busy Konoha. However he was oblivious to the world around him as he wandered. He ignored the glares sent his way, did not notice looks of confusion sent at him as he mumbled to himself, and most of all he missed a pair of obsidian eyes that looked relieved at the sight of him.

But even if he had noticed them, he wasn't in the mood with dealing with anyone.

And it was as such the pair of obsidian eyes, curious by the downed look of the blond, followed him.

Throughout all of Konoha Naruto wandered, his mind completely elsewhere. When he did finally stop however he was standing atop the academy building starring at the four heads of the Hokage's of the village.

And as he starred at them, his gaze came to rest upon the faces of the Yondaime and the Sandaime.

"_Am I doing everything the way you two would want..."_ he wondered as he stood in his spot and closed his eyes.

A small whizzing sound to his right broke him out of his reverie however as his hand snapped up in a blur and caught two shuriken that had been thrown at him between his knuckles. He sighed mentally as he turned his head to the right slightly and in a tired and annoyed tone said, "You can come out now whoever you are."

And to his surprise it was one of the first people who had come to accept him.

"Ne, Iruka-sensei why are you..." but Naruto couldn't finish his sentence. In a blur Iruka was upon him with a Kunai drawn and trying to slash him.

"_What the hell? Has Iruka sensei gone mad..."_ Naruto thought as he jumped back from the most recent slash only to pivot backwards on his left heal to dodge the barrage of shuriken that had followed him.

Iruka didn't relent however and was following his shuriken the second he had thrown them. He bent low and tried to sweep out Naruto's legs, only to have Naruto jump lightly in the air to avoid the simple attack.

But the second Naruto saw Iruka's smirk, he knew he had done something wrong. With a twist of his body, Iruka's sweeping leg was back under him and his body bent forward as his other leg mule kicked at the slightly air born Naruto.

With a grunt Naruto took the blow to the gut and went flying backwards. He back flipped in midair due to the force he was sent and landed on his feet, skidding slightly as he came to a stop.

"Iruka-sensei, what are you doing?" Naruto demanded, more than annoyed and at the same time more than afraid as well. Iruka had never attacked him like this before and it was unnerving him greatly.

"Don't Iruka-sensei me you impostor," Iruka snarled as he slid into a taijutsu stance Naruto hadn't seen before as well as held a Kunai in both hands.

"Impostor, what the hell are you talking about?" Naruto demanded, his annoyance showing greatly.

"Just that, the Naruto that I know would never talk like that or be so blatantly different, even in one of his pranks. So whoever you are, I will kill you and find Naruto," Iruka said though slightly shouted the last part before charging at Naruto.

And it was a lot faster than Naruto gave the Chuunin credit for as he came in both Kunai points ready to try and skewer Naruto's heart.

Naruto was utterly confused though, not knowing exactly what the person whom he considered his father was doing. As the kunai came in close though he spun again on his left foot as his left hand reached out in a blur and grabbed both Kunai by the blades. With a violent tug he pulled them out of Iruka's hands as he continued to spin, coming to a crouched stop right behind Iruka with his right foot closest to the Chuunin's back and his left foot away from him.

Once the stance was set, Naruto snapped the back of his right hand into a fist against Iruka's back sending him flying headfirst towards one of the pillars that were on the roof. In an impressive display of grace Iruka flipped forward and twisted so that he landed on his feet and skidded to a stop before dropping to his hands and knees coughing.

"What do you think you are doing Iruka-sensei? I am Naruto," Naruto stated as he dropped the Kunai in his hand, blood dripping from where the once were held, though it stopped quickly as Kyuubi healed the wound.

"Shut up... you... you monster..." Iruka gasped out as he stood shakily on his feet and glared at the blond.

Naruto stood horror struck at what Iruka had just called him though. Iruka had never, even when he had first met the chuunin when he was little, called him a monster. He had been one of the few adults to give him the benefit of the doubt and had treated him with mild civilizedness until he had come to know the blond better. But now... here he was... the man who had cared for him enough to sacrifice himself to the shuriken of Mizuki... and he was calling him now a mobster.

"Iruka-sensei..."

"I said shut up," Iruka screamed, his breath now back in his body but his body still shaky from Naruto's hit, "The Naruto I know wouldn't have done the tings I saw. The Naruto I know wouldn't go on a killing rampage like..."

And before Iruka could even finish, Naruto understood now what the chuunin was so upset about. He had seen Naruto's memories as well and had figured that somehow this Naruto before him was the twisted abomination that he had seen and the the childish Naruto he only knew was somewhere else.

But at that exact same moment, Naruto's anger went through the roof. He had never liked being called names, nor had he been the most patient with people when they were both insulting and yelling at him at the same time.

"... like a senseless demon, right Iruka-sensei," Naruto seethed, his voice dripping with anger, as Iruka stopped talking and looked Naruto in the eye.

They were still the electric sky blue that he had known on Naruto, and Iruka found himself suddenly regretting attacking this person in front of him. For in those eyes, he saw hurt, pain, suffering, anger... and the one that made his heart suddenly clench in his chest... was betrayal.

"No _human_ would massacre every living thing along their path. No _human_ would fight so senselessly against his best friend to try and save them, only to have another take a fatal blow for him. No _human_ would turn against the place where he was raised and burn it to the ground. No _human_ would tear his friends apart piece by piece as they came to stop him from attacking their homes. And certainly no _human_ would ever kill the only people he has ever considered family when they came to try and stop him to get the _human_ they knew back," Naruto growled out as he struggled with keeping his calm, "And you know what Iruka-_sensei... _ you are right in that aspect. I am not human. I am a monster, a Jinchuuriki, a human sealed with a greater demon within them. But if even you can't see that what I am and who I am are not the same thing..."

And in a flash of yellow light Naruto was behind the chuunin with a kunai to his throat.

"... Then everything I've ever lived for is for naught and I should become the very thing that you so fear," Naruto said, his voice loosing all of its childishness suddenly, being replaced by the cold gruff voice of a killer.

But the death blow that Iruka had suddenly found himself expecting never came and the presence of the kunai on his neck and the person behind vanished in a puff of smoke.

Iruka turned around very carefully, making sure he made no threatening movements as he made sure the person who claimed to be Naruto was actually gone. When he saw that the person hadn't just moved back he let out a breath he had been holding, letting his guard down slightly.

He tensed as a flock of birds squawked as in annoyance as they took flight to the air. But as they disappeared out of his sight he sighed deeply.

"_Could that really be Naruto?"_ Iruka thought with a pain in his chest as the impostor 'Naruto's' words echoed through his head.

Iruka sighed again as he looked to the Hokage monument as he tried to sort his thoughts. HE knew Naruto better than anyone... didn't he. The blond was, or at least felt like, the son he had never had. So why did this impostors words hurt him so much... why did they make him feel so... guilty. With another sigh Iruka just shook his head slightly as he jumped from the room of the academy and started on a slow trek home.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&**

Naruto growled as he walked down the streets of Konoha again. He was pissed, he was sad, he was just all around frustrated.

"**You know you could have let me talk to that _father_ of yours like I did to that Hyuuga,"** the voice of Kyuubi echoed in Naruto's head, making his steps falter for a moment. In all of his thoughts he had completely forgotten about the ancient fox sealed within him.

"**Nice to know I'm so well remembered,"** Kyuubi's voice rang out again in Naruto's head in a deadpanned manner.

"_Shut it furball," _Naruto thought in annoyance, "_Besides, had I let you out even for a moment, Iruka-sensei would have thought I was even more of a __**monster**__than I already am."_

"**You need to give yourself more credit kit,"** Kyuubi said, his voice taking on a soothing tone knowing full well what went with a depressed Naruto.

That depression generally lead to a suddenly intense and blinding anger that meant either someone wound up dead, or several hundred feet of forest and ground ceased to exist.

"_Iruka-sensei though is..."_

"**... a smart human kit. Give him that much at least. You need to remember this isn't the world that we left. Everyone here still has a life to live and loved ones around that they wish to care for. This Iruka, is worried about you because you aren't acting the same as you used to. Even the unintelligent meat sacks that glare at you can see you are no longer the Naruto that they know of. To them, you are a mystery and..."**

"_... People fear the unknown," _Naruto thought in annoyance as he cut of the Kyuubi's link to his mind with vengeance. He saw the truth in the demons words but he was in no real mood to actually state such a fact and instead figured he needed to blow some steam off before he exploded at someone who didn't need it.

And that very thought suddenly lead him to finally notice two presences that had been following him around for most of the day now.

"_Oh son of a... I really need to stop paying so little attention,"_ Naruto thought haughtily before extending his senses to _feel out_ who was watching him.

One presence seemed relieved and panicked at the same time while the other was curious but hesitant.

"_Sasuke and Sakura... figures they'd follow me,"_ Naruto thought in amusement before suddenly continuing on his way, a smirk now on his face instead of a scowl.

He waited with slightly held breath for either of the two to finally step forward as he continued on his way, but neither of them came close. Naruto did however notice that where he could sense Sasuke was always at least a good hundred feet away from Sakura. There was no way that Sasuke couldn't have sensed her and Naruto cringed with realization as to why the last Uchiha was staying away from their pink haired comrade.

"_So he remembers..." _Naruto thought glumly as he came to the base of the Hokage monument. There was a staircase that had been carved into the base of the mountain that wound its way up to the top. There were several other stair cases that did the same thing, though those were used in case of an invasion.

That thought also made Naruto cringe again as he knew they would be used soon.

But as he sighed for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day, he suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke only to reappear atop the Hokage monument looking down from his favorite spot atop the Yondaime's head at the small clearing at the base of the mountain. He watched with amusement as his pink haired teammate came out from behind a tree into the clearing and looked around it a few times, obviously confused with Naruto's sudden vanishing act. Once her shoulders slumped though and she started to walk back towards the village, he saw a rustle in the trees that outlined the clearing before he felt a presence behind him.

"I see you aren't as easily daunted as Sakura is," Naruto drawled out, already knowing the person behind him was Sasuke.

The air was tense and silent before Sasuke spoke, "Why?"

Naruto turned around to face the last Uchiha sideways with a question brow raised. His face was impassive and showed nothing but his curiosity at his friends question.

See he his look, Sasuke continued, "Why do you keep smiling if... if what we... if what I did... if what I saw actually happened?"

Sasuke berated himself mentally for his lack of an ability to form proper words at the moment. He had set in his head a series of questions he was going to ask the blond until he got his answers, but now that he was faced with him... they all seemed to have been forgotten and he was left with an overwhelming sense of regret and guilt.

Naruto steadied his breath and racing heart at Sasuke's question as he turned back to look over the village.

"It is simply because of what I am," Naruto said sadly as he tried to keep the pain and sadness out of his voice, struggling greatly with the rising emotions in his chest.

"But... everything I saw... everything I did..." Sasuke started to ramble, not entirely sure where his thoughts were anymore.

He jumped in surprise when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and took a defensive posture. He relaxed when he saw the it was Naruto starring at him with a hurt expression. That expression also made him feel more than a little guilty.

"You are my best friend Sasuke," Naruto stated sadly as he kept his eyes locked with the Uchiha's, "And what you saw is simply just something that you might become if you let your _ambition_ take control of you more so than you already have."

"But I tried to kill you... twice even, and I killed Sakura-chan!" Sasuke shouted, his mouth snapping shut when he realized he had added the chan suffix to his pink hair teammates name. Naruto's eyes light up a little at the sudden outburst but the sadness still remained.

"Listen Sasuke. What you saw, all those... images, are simply that, images. I can tell you for certain that I wish nothing more than for those images you saw never to come true, and as Hokage or not, I promise you that I will give it my all to make sure they don't."

Sasuke's head was swirling with questions and answers now as he tried to take in everything Naruto had said. Hell even the blonds expression, which had gone from a soft sad to a hard cold fierce had been burned into his memory.

But then something clicked as his mind over laid the image of the younger looking Naruto he knew next to the one that was still looking him straight in the eyes. The two looked so similar and yet so very different. And with that thought his mouth worked all its own.

"You're not Naruto."

Naruto cringed at the words but did not suddenly go bounding away in fright.

"You are right in that regard in part. I am not the Naruto you knew, well not entirely anyways," Naruto said as he stood up to his full height, just a few inches taller than Sasuke.

And yet, even with the odd declaration, Sasuke didn't feel the least bit threatened. Something had shifted around the blond standing before him and he suddenly found himself feeling as relaxed as he once had around the Hokage, and dare he think it, his family.

And to his shock, the thought of his family didn't bring a sudden pain to his heart like it normally did. Whenever he thought about them before he would always end up thinking about Itachi and that bloody scene he had come upon. But for the moment he pushed that thought aside as he asked the next question before his mind could process what his lips wanted to ask.

"Then who are you?"

Naruto looked with suddenly blank eyes at Sasuke, making the Uchiha squirm slightly where he was standing. Even if he felt at ease, Naruto with a blank, though somehow piercing stare was just odd and uncomfortable.

But after a few moments of silent Naruto eyes took on a look that Sasuke thought he would never see on the blond. It was a look of wisdom and understanding, far beyond that of a twelve year old gennin. It was that of someone whom has seen things that would make most people shake where they stood. It was just simply... _ancient._

"I am simply Naruto and I am what I am," Naruto simply stated before starting to walk back towards the trail that lead off the mountain top. He paused briefly at the somewhat flabbergasted Uchiha's side and whispered, "And don't blame yourself for the actions of something that you yourself have never done. What you saw was not you nor the Sasuke I know."

Sasuke's head turned quickly after that to ask another question at the blond but he could only blink as there were no traces of Naruto anywhere in the vicinity. Even after activating his Sharingan to see if any traces of chakra where left in the air, which he found none of, it had been as if Naruto hadn't even been there to begin with.

With a defeated sigh Sasuke started on his way back to his apartment to try and sort his thoughts once more.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&**

For the forth time in one day, Naruto found himself wandering the streets of Konoha once again. Except this time instead of smiling, sighing, or muttering under his breath, he was down right pissed.

He stepped heavily as he walked and his face was set in a nasty scowl.

"Damn it_! This day started out so well too..."_ Naruto thought angrily as he thought about the encounters he had had that day.

But karma was not with Naruto this day as he heard a very very _very_ family giggle coming from close by as he was passing the hot springs near the eastern walls of Konoha.

That _giggle_ sent a shiver up and down Naruto's spine as his mood went from pissed to murderous in under a second.

Inside Naruto, Kyuubi felt the sudden change in Naruto's already bad mood and decided to check what was happening. When the sound of _that_ giggle entered the ancient foxes mind, a malevolent grin spread across his massive maw as he knew exactly what would be happening in the near future.

With a few sniffs into the air, Naruto found the distinct smell of sake and toads. Once he had the smell he followed his nose and it took all of a few seconds before he found the owner of _that_ giggle.

And sure enough, high up in a tree, barely visible even to his own eyes, Naruto spotted a distinct white mane of hair amongst the green of the leaves.

Without a seconds pause, Naruto walked up to the base of the tree, an old oak from the sheer width of the base, and with one anger filled punch, slammed his fist into the tree. Nothing happened initially except for the tree vibrating slightly at the bottom from the force of the punch.

Up top though, the branches and leaves started to shake violently and the owner of the white head of hair peaked through the leaves towards the base to see what had caused the sudden shaking. All he saw was the blond mop of hair of a person below him starring at the trunk.

Ignoring the person and passing off the shaking to something other than the person below him, the white haired man returned to his activities in the branches.

Naruto felt rather than saw the attention of his _prey_ leave him shortly after the first punch while he continued to glare at the base of the trunk. There was a very large dent from where his fist had impacted but no other damage that he could see.

But after a quick flash of a memory through his mind, courtesy of a grinning demon within him, Naruto's glare became a malicious grin.

He reared back his right hand while he placed his left hand upon the tree itself. He then started to regulate a massive amount of chakra through both of his arms, one having it travel into the tree and the other to augment the already strained muscles from holding a tensed punch for so long.

The chakra surges caught the mans attention again as he wondered where exactly they were coming from. He felt them below him but before he could spread the leaves beneath him to see, his world went fuzzy as something hit him hard. And boy did he mean _hard. _It felt as if he had suddenly been hit by a certain blond woman when she was _very_ pissed off about something with him.

It was so hard in fact that it ripped the branch his body had automatically tried to latch to with chakra. Well it had worked for latching, but the sheer force had done the unexpected and forced him to take the branch with him. Hell, the only reason he knew the branch _was_ with him was because he could hear the sound of the leaves flapping violently in the wind as both he and the branch went flying over and out of Konoha. In a swirl of leaves Naruto was quickly after his prey.

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Jiraiya was not in a good mood as he pulled himself from the bushes he had landed in after having traveled through a few trees. He had leaves and twigs poking out of his long white mane of hair and his outfit was torn in various places. And to top off his mood his side and head were throbbing in pain.

Whatever had hit him had hurt like hell but the part that unnerved him most about it was, he felt as if he deserved it somehow.

And as he thought those thoughts, someone calling his name caught his ears, but at the same time made him pale. The voice was male, that much was certain from the gruffness and deepness of the voice, but what made him pale was the tone. The softness of the first syllable of his name followed by a piercing anger in the middle and winding it up with the last part coming out in almost a hiss.

He know of only one person who used a tone like that and that person generally beat the living hell out of him whenever she used it.

So, needless to say, he wasn't entirely thrown out of whack when he felt a fist impact his gut and start lifting him in the air. The feeling of his git being lifted into his throat cut off immediately though as his vision blurred for a second before recovering enough to see a black booted foot come sweeping into his line of sight. The sound of bones breaking as the hard rubbered heel connected with his nose echoed in his ears as he was sent flying once more into a tree, though thankfully or not, he wasn't entirely sure, he didn't go through the tree.

After his impact he fell to the ground on his hands and knees and coughed up a moderate amount of blood. The person who had attacked him had hit him hard, no doubt about that, but he was more aware now of their being there then he was before. His vision was still slightly blurry though from the natural reaction of his eyes watering after being hit in the nose, which got slightly worse as he realigned it, the pain shotting through his body for a moment before dulling out to years of having something like that happen.

But because of the blurred vision, he couldn't see his assailant clearly, thought that was partially due the angry red hue burning around the person as well.

Before he could even as the persons name though they vanished from his blurry vision and it was only because of his years of training that he managed to get get his left arm up in time to block a kick aimed at his head.

His senses went into automatic overdrive at that point though as the persons presence seemed to change every second and every second Jiraiya was just barely able to keep up with the blocking as he tried to get his vision back.

He got a slight break when he felt the persons foot overextend just the slightest bit as he ducked under it and used that extension to grab his assailants leg before flinging them away.

Jiraiya tried to catch some air as he heard and felt the person land gracefully after being thrown away.

He got all of three seconds rest before the person was back upon him again, though this time with more fury than before. It was as if Jiraiya's very presence was pissing this person off more and more and Jiraiya couldn't figure out for the life of him why that was. He had a brief flashback to the person below the tree he had been in with blond hair, as well as several others that made his heart start to race faster and faster.

If this person was whom he thought it was...

... He never got to finish that thought as his guard slipped and he felt a very powerful punch connect with his jaw jarring his body horizontally to the ground . But at the same time the person followed through with the punch, catching Jiraiya a bit off guard, before twisting in mid air to balance briefly on one hand so that their body was vertical to the ground. Then with a barely noticeable push they went up a bit farther as well as rotated their body down and Jiraiya only knew a lot of pain in the next second as a heeled boot slammed into his back hard and stayed there until he was firmly implanted into the ground several inches.

The wind left Jiraiya's lungs completely at that point, though his vision did suddenly come back from the intense pain. But at the same time his instincts told him to move and he rolled to the side away from the person before seeing an axe kick barely miss his head and slam into the earth. His eyes bugged though as the person just dragged their foot through the ground, even after it had broken into it, brining it around again in a very unnatural display of grace.

With a scream of anger his assailant brought the same leg down upon Jiraiya again, though this time on his stomach, and to make sure they had hit him, Jiraiya noticed they had fallen with their kick onto their rear sideways before bending backwards and doing a very disconcerting back hand spring back to stand above a now totally winded Jiraiya.

It was then that Jiraiya caught a look at the face of his attacker and mentally groaned as he saw a mask covering their face from the nose down, ruling out recognition by facial features. He did however note that the person had unruly blond hair done into a low ponytail as well as _very_ familiar electric blue eyes.

The eyes had his heart skip a beat slightly until he noticed the modified ANBU like attire the person had on as well as the forehead protector tied to his forehead as well. But the look in the persons eyes is what terrified him slightly because it promised death. Though he was one of the legendary sannin, he wasn't stupid, and he knew this person had caught him entirely off guard and had kept him as such this entire time. Lesser and greater shinobi than he had died to such tactics many times and as the persons fist reared back his face paled just that much more.

It was only thanks to his training that he managed to substitute himself out with a log as his attacker firmly put his fist through the log and then into the ground up to his elbow where Jiraiya's head would have been.

Jiraiya used those precious few seconds to regain his bearings fully as his attacker removed their arm from the ground. It wouldn't budge at first and Jiraiya noted that with a surge of a powerful amount of chakra the blond ripped his arm free from the earth in an impressive display of brute strength, especially seeing as the earth that had surrounded his arm came up with it.

"Who are you?" Jiraiya demanded as he readied himself for another assault from the blond before him. He hadn't been caught of guard many times before by unknown ninja, and he planned on not letting this blond catch him off guard again now that he had his wits about him.

"**_Bastard Ero-sennin_**," his attacker growled.

Jiraiya felt his heart skip another beat at the blonds words. He only knew of _one _person who called him _Ero-sennin_ and that blond was dead. However his face paled a bit at the darkness as well as gruffness the voice had, another indication it wasn't the particular blond man he was thinking of.

But before he could demand to know who the person was again, the blond moved in for another assault.

In a blur 5 shuriken were launched at Jiraiya that he deftly dodged as he kept his eyes locked on the blond while he charged. He came in wild and hard with an obvious right hook towards Jiraiya's face. Jiraiya, being the sannin that he was, saw the obvious opening of the overextension as well as keeping the midsection rather open to attack. So with one arm he moved to block the punch aimed for his head. He did not expect however, the sudden monstrous strength that came with the punch _without_ a burst of chakra like he had been assuming. His own hand connected with his face first and heard a few pops within said hand as the blonds knuckles dug into his palm and pushed him away several feet.

The momentary shock wore of quicikly for Jiraiya as he reached in fast and grabbed the blonds extended arm before pulling it in the same direction he was falling in. At the same time he spun around a sudden surprised blonds arm and slammed the back of his right fist into the back of the blonds skull, forcing him face first into the dirt with a great deal of force.

But even with his face in the dirt in such a way that would knock most Jounin out cold, his attacker quickly tucked his chin down as he started to roll forward. He did this very quickly and as his feet passed by Jiraiya's head, they locked around his neck in and odd movement of flexibility before they flung him head first at a tree.

Jiraiya easily righted himself of his rather sudden flight before looking back at the blonds masked face. Thats when he noticed the blue eyes weren't normal. Where the round pupil should have been was now a vertical slit like a cats, and their was the faintest of red dancing throughout the coloring around said pupil.

He knew he recognized his attackers eyes from somewhere but his thought process quickly changed as he saw a blue ball of swirling chakra start to form in his attackers hand. It was as he saw this that Jiraiya's face lost all color entirely as he starred flabbergasted at the forming _Rasengan_ in his attackers hand.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&**

Kyuubi was slightly panicked from seeing the brief though somewhat entertaining fight between Naruto and the white haired sannin Jiraiya. At least it had been entertaining at first when Naruto had used a form of chakra manipulation through wood to send the pervert flying to the outskirts of Konoha where they could deal with him in a better and safer place. However, after seeing several of the moves used by Naruto, as well as several _very_ bad memories flash through the blonds head, Kyuubi had forgone every thought and had been trying to reach the now crazed mind of one **_extremely_** pissed of Naruto.

And it wasn't until said blond was forming one of his favorite and most powerful techniques that Kyuubi noticed something else.

Naruto was burning off hundreds of times more chakra than what the attack called for and about ninety percent of what the attack took to make wasn't even being focused into the attack. It was as he noticed this that the Kyuubi thought of something that started to make him uneasy.

"**_His knowledge of his moves is still the same as his know how of their execution... but his control... he may know how to control it... but his body doesn't. it isn't at the same level it once was," _**Kyuubi thought and he felt his gut twist as he realized this.

Even though Naruto's chakra capacity was easily on par with the sannin he was now fighting, even with the seal to restrain the excess amount of chakra that came with Naruto fusing with his former self, the blonds control over his chakra was no where near where it had been. It was then Kyuubi realized why Naruto had been passing out after his few displays of his chakra.

But his thoughts and musing on the matter was brought to a quick halt as he felt the flow of chakra going to his hosts hand suddenly start to triple by the second. This made the Kyuubi severely anxious as he tried to talk to Naruto through their link to warn him that the attack was likely to back fire in his face.

He had no such luck in getting through to the blond.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&**

Jiraiya was rooted to the spot as he saw the swirling ball of chakra in his attackers hand. His mind was telling him to move but his body wasn't reacting at all, too shocked to see that someone who looked so much like his last student as using an attack that had made his student famous.

His fear only mounted though as he could literally feel the amount of power being put into the attack. It was radiating off of his attacker and the ball in massive waves and his mind was screaming for him to leave or he would most likely die.

But then all of a sudden, his attacker was screaming in pain as he dropped to one knee, hold out the arm that had the now distorting Rasengan in his hand. It was warping this way and that as the power overload started to happen and before Jiraiya could think to move, it erupted in a violent explosion.

The blast was bright and strong as it had sent his body flying back against a tree, though not hard enough to go through it, and had blinded him temporarily. He could still hear however, and the sicken sound of flesh being ripped from bone, an ear piercing scream of agony, and then the sound of a body being slammed against what had to be a tree, or rather through a tree. Jiraiya had almost no doubt that his attacker was most likely dead by the sounds of what had happened and so he used the resounding silence to get not only his breath back but also his sight.

To his own chagrin it took nearly ten minutes for his sight to return from the force of the blast and not only that, but it hurt to breath meaning he had at least a few broken ribs as well. But he was thankful for his less injuries as he came followed the path his attackers body had been sent to. Several trees lay decimated from the path the person had been flung to, and to Jiraiya's surprise a boulder also lay in rubles.

But it was in the ruble of said boulder that he found his attacker. And once he had come upon the scene, he flinched slightly at the sight.

The persons right arm looked like it had been through a meat grinder as pieces of flesh and muscle hung from bone. Their arm was dislocated and broken as well from what he could tell. But aside from that, the rest of his attackers body seemed to be fine, though there were a few gashes that were on his face as well, covering his face in blood. It was then that Jiraiya also noticed the persons mask was also gone.

"_This guy was one hell of a fighter,"_ Jiraiya thought as he started to move closer to inspect the body more. After all, it was a ninja from his own home village that had attacked him and he figured there had to be a reason for it. Hell he had been in the village for a specific reason anyways until he had been abruptly sent out of the village by this person.

But it was as he approached that he noticed something that should not be possible. Slowly the persons right arm was regrowing the muscles and skin that had been severed from it, as well as the mending of the break in the bone. It was an extremely slow process but it was happening none the less. He also noticed the gashes that had been evident on his attackers face where now completely gone as if they hadn't been there to begin with.

"_What the hell... this shouldn't be possible..."_ Jiraiya thought numbly as he watched the impossible before him.

It wasn't until he caught a flicker of a red colored chakra within the persons arm did his mind start to work again. The chakra had a _very_ familiar feeling to it and with a sickening feeling in his stomach he had an extremely good idea as to who his attacker was now, which only made him pale even farther.

"_If this is who I think it is..."_ Jiraiya started to think before becoming very grateful for his life at the moment.

Jiraiya coughed suddenly reminding him of the state his body was in and he sighed as gingerly reached down and lifted the unconscious blond onto his back and started to head back to Konoha. It wouldn't do after all to just leave an obviously injured Konoha nin right just outside the actual village itself.

"_You got some explaining to do brat,"_ Jiraiya thought as he took to the trees at a quick but rather sedate pace so as not to further his own injuries as well as the blond man now on his back.

He nearly dropped his cargo though when he heard a mumbled, "Stupid Ero-sennin."

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&**

Naruto groaned loudly as he sat up where ever he was. His body was sore and several parts of his muscles, namely those in his right arm, throbbed with a stabbing pain. He figured out the second he woke up he was back in the hospital but he wasn't entirely sure how he had wound back up in there.

He held his throbbing arm softly as he got out of the bed, taking note that he was still in all of his normal clothes, and also trying to think of how he had ended up in one of his least favorite places.

"_Let's see... I remember the fight with Iruka-sensei, the talk with Sasuke-teme, then walking around and hear... ing..."_ Naruto's train of thought stopped as his anger started to boil once more. The image of the white haired sannin flashed before his eyes once more and his anger started to build up once more in stereo.

"**DAMN IT KIT CALM YOUR ASS DOWN!"** Kyuubi's voice suddenly rumbled through Naruto's head making him suddenly forget how to walk and trip over his own feet before doing a spectacular face plant into the cold tiled floor.

He growled at suddenly being caught off guard by the ancient fox and in a moment of anger in his head screamed, "_AND WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT YOU DAMN FURBALL!"_

He instantly regretted yelling at the Kyuubi as he felt and overwhelming sense of euphoria enter his brain as well as the pain in his arm suddenly tripled.

"**Is that any way to treat the being that has been healing your body for the past two hours and regrowing your muscles for your own damn foolishness?**" Kyuubi's voice growled out laced with power and anger. Both made Naruto shiver slightly at the feeling of both entering his brain in such a manner.

"_Alright already, knock it off with the cook my brain pressure. What is it you want cause I have some pervert killing to do," _Naruto growled out, though this time his voice was a lot calmer towards Kyuubi.

"**Like hell you will try and do that again,"** Kyuubi growled, causing Naruto to blink a few times in surprise. He knew the Kyuubi did not support Jiraiya in any way, and would rather tear the old man limb from limb. So the fox was sticking up for the old pervert suddenly was like a hit to the gut for Naruto.

"_... the hell do you mean?"_ Naruto asked, utterly confused.

"**I see you seem to have forgotten the most recent fight you had with the perverted meat sack, and even further still you seem to forget so quickly what happened to said pervert back in our old reality"** Kyuubi stated, his voice emotionless for the most part though the only thing you could tell was that he was clearly annoyed.

Naruto cringed as the thought of what the Kyuubi was implying came to his mind but he ruthlessly shoved said memory into the deepest recesses of his mind. Kyuubi felt the change through his thoughts and let him do as he wished. After all, he remembered _quite_ clearly the effect that particular memory had upon the gennin.

"**Are you ready to listen now?"** Kyuubi's voice echoed out after a minute or two of silence.

A grunt was all he got from the blond but he Kyuubi understood that Naruto was listening.

"**Good. Now, do you remember anything from your fight with the old meat sack?**" Kyuubi asked.

"..._Not really..."_ Naruto replied hesitantly, to which the Kyuubi sighed.

"**Figures. Fine, to make this easier, try and attempt the first stage of the ****_Rasengan,"_**Kyuubi voice out and was reward with and incredulous 'what' from Naruto.

"**Just do it.**" Kyuubi growled dangerously and the blond complied.

Not two second into starting the stage though, Naruto immediately cut of the swirls of chakra within his hand, instantly noticing the sudden surge of chakra that came, which would have made it impossible for him to control it any farther had he gone another second.

"_What the hell was that?"_ Naruto question, his voice and body shocked from the surge.

"**That is what I was trying to warn you about during your fight. I noticed once you started to use that technique since it uses less chakra than most of your other techniques. What is happening is that somehow, even with the seal we have to contain our fused powers of our future and present selves, your body is leaking a massive amount of our chakra. Its like how you were back when you were young when you were using about thirty five percent of your chakra for your moves, and wasting the other sixty five percent in the execution of those moves. However now, I'd say no matter what technique you use, you are only using about ten percent of your chakra for the technique and the remaining ninety is being leaked out of your body instead of just diffusing to make up for the lack of control. In this case, that extra ninety percent is indirectly being added to you small amount of controlled chakra and making it hundreds of times more powerful in our case, but at the same time making the move extremely unstable and extremely dangerous."**

Naruto's face paled at this as his mind instantly thought of the move he had used on Akamaru. Kyuubi sensed his immediate train of thought and moved to interrupt it.

"**Do not worry yourself over the pup kit. _That _move only requires a massive amount of chakra with the least of control so the worst you did was probably the best for the outcome in that situation. The pup should be fine by about a week after the exams, maybe sooner depending on the _circumstances_,"**

Naruto sighed a breath of relief at this as he laid back into his bed. He looked around briefly and noticed he was back in the same room of the hospital as he had been before. However, his thoughts soon went back to what Kyuubi had just told him as he suddenly felt very very tired.

"_Do you have any idea how to fix this so I don't suddenly blow myself up when using a jutsu?"_ Naruto asked, his eyes getting heavy.

"**Off the top of my head no. However, I do believe your body's condition has something to do with your tenketsu as to when we merged. I cannot be sure of this but for now, you need to rest as i finish repairing your muscles. We'll figure out how to fix the problem of our wasted chakra once _both_ you and I get some rest and recover a bit more chakra."**

"_...Sure thing... furball..."_ Naruto said between yawns as his body grew more tired by the second before he finally fell asleep.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&**

For what seemed like the thousandth time within the small amount of time since they had been announced to take the Chuunin Selection Exam to now, Haruno Sakura found herself both furious and scarred for her two teammates.

On one hand, she had her crush Sasuke. He had slowly been opening up ever since their excursion to Wave Country for which she begrudgingly gave credit to Naruto. The rivalry those two had when learning the tree climbing exercise had made the Uchiha open slightly as well as the time after he had almost been killed by Haku.

But after what that snake person Orochimaru did to Sasuke... he seemed to have changed back to his cold self again. Even Naruto noticed the sudden dark change the Uchiha had made. Add on top of that that she had yet to see her crush since the preliminary matches.

That thought made her groan inwardly as well as her thoughts drifted to the main reason for her wonder of where her teammates were.

Naruto had most _definitely_ changed. But from everything she had seen thus far, he had turned... colder. Plus he had been in and out of the hospital so many times within the past few weeks she was severely concerned for said blond's health. He had to have been doing something very dangerous to put him in a state that needed him to be in a hospital.

Plus when she had suddenly seen him for the first time since the exams today, he looked irritated and depressed at the same time. She had followed him to try and talk to him but he had just vanished at the base of the Hokage Monument.

"You seemed depressed forehead girl," a voice suddenly called interrupting the pink haired girls thoughts as she felt a twitch starting to form in her eye at the name.

But she shook off her normal reaction as she turned to see Ino standing a bit behind her on the street with a playful smirk on her face.

Said smirk quickly vanished as the blond saw Sakura's face.

"What's wrong Sakura?"

"I can't... I just can't seem to find where Sasuke-kun and Naruto are and its worrying me," Sakura replied as she walked over to a bench on the side of the road and sat down. She had been walking aimlessly after Naruto had vanished and she just started to feel her feet getting sore.

Ino quickly joined Sakura on the bench and placed a comforting hand on her friends shoulder.

"I'm sure they are fine."

Sakura let out a sigh at that before looking to Ino with sad eyes and saying, "That's just it though. I haven't seen Sasuke-kun since Kakashi-sensei left with him at the exam and Naruto... he's been in and out of this hospital so many times these last few days... I don't know what's happening to my team anymore."

Sakura had started calm but by the end she was in slight hysterics and was was crying heavily, her hands clenched to her chest as her shoulders shook with her sobs. Ino, for all her wit, found nothing to say to her friend but instead gently took her in her arms and held her close in a comforting manner.

Unconsciously, Sakura wrapped her arms around Ino as her cries worsened and she held the blond tighter. The action had Ino at even more of a loss for words but she continued to hold Sakura regardless. It took nearly ten minutes for the pink haired gennin to finally settle down to mere sniffles and a few remaining tears.

When she had calmed down to that point, she released Ino from the hold she had on her as Ino released her as well, and pulled back slowly with a weak smile on her face as she tried to rub the last few tears away.

"Th-Thanks Ino,"

Ino had a small smirk on her face at the thanks but squashed the massively overwhelming urge that came to her thoughts. Instead she just kept smirking slightly slightly before saying, "Don't mention it Sakura. It's what friends are for. Plus, seeing as how you are so worried about Naruto and Sasuke-kun, why don't we go to the one place that has at least seen one of your teammates the most ne?"

Sakura's smile grew a bit more at that as a few more tears came to her eyes. She nodded to the blond as she wiped away the tears that had come back and stood slowly on shaky legs. She didn't realize how distraught she was until she had stood back up, but she quickly composed herself as her blond friend joined her on the street and together headed once more back to the hospital.

Upon arrival, it was a great deal calmer than it had been the last time they had arrived. A few people and nurses were scattered throughout the main lobby either talking with patients or other people. The two girls quickly made their way to the receptionist's desk where the stood quietly for a moment waiting for the woman behind said desk to finish a piece of paper she was writing on.

Once done, she looked up at the two girls with a soft smile on her face and asked, "And how can I help you two young ladies today?"

"We'd like to know if two people have been brought in recently or have been seen here," Ino stated.

"And they would be?"

"Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto," Sakura answered.

The womans smile flinched at the mention of Naruto's name as she turned around to sort through a large shelf of files behind her desk. As she was searching however, Ino and Sakura shared confused glances with each other again. Every time they had come here and mentioned Naruto's name, or _anywhere_ in the village for that matter, people flinched, shied away, or just blew them off entirely.

The sound of a file being set onto the desk brought their attention back to the woman. She looked briefly through the file that she had before saying, "I'm sorry but it seems that Uchiha Sasuke hasn't been in here at all since he was brought her by Hatake Kakashi a few weeks ago."

Both girls noted that the woman had only read off information about Sasuke, and had said nothing about Naruto.

"And Uzumaki Naruto?" Sakura asked, her voice pleading, and Ino caught a bit of fear as well. She knew her pink haired friend was more worked up about her team than she let on, even with her crying on her she was still slightly panicky about the two. But she couldn't really blame her either. If something were to happen to Chouji or Shikamaru... she'd problem be in the same or a probably worse state than Sakura was in right now.

But after hearing Sakura's question, both girls were a bit taken aback when the womans face turned decidedly foul as she demanded, "What do you want with that demon brat anyways?"

Again, Sakura's and Ino's minds came to a bit of grinding halt at the hostility in the womans voice, not to mention choice of words. Naruto _was_ a pain in the ass, that much they both could attest to because of his pranks. But there was no way he could have made someone so angry as to call him a _demon_ so venomously. And this was a different woman than from the last time they had been there, so why she was just as hostile if not more so than the last one was even more befuddling.

"It would seem these two ladies are looking for said gaki, miss. And as for your questioning of their reasons, or rather your particular choice of words, I should really be asking why you would be wanting to meet with Morino Ibiki so early in your life?" a gruff voice answered for the two dumbstruck girls.

The woman's face paled to a very unnatural and probably unhealthy color as she covered her mouth with her hands, her body starting to shake slightly in fear.

Both Ino and Sakura gave the woman a questioning look before turning around and their jaws hanging loose in shock. Standing behind them was a fairly tall old man in slightly outlandish, but still decided shinobi clothes. And both girls also immediately recognized said person.

"Jiraiya-sama," both girls gasped out as they bowed low in respect before returning upright.

"Do you know something about Naruto, Jiraiya-sama?" Sakura asked once she was looking at the sannin once more. She realized she should probably be more respectful as this man _was_ a legend in Konoha, as well the fact that she figured she would probably never really see someone of his caliber again in her career as a shinobi.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at the question. He could sense the worry in his voice and wondered who this person was to the blond that had attacked him before asking, "You a friend of his or something?"

The word friend struck a somewhat raw nerve for Sakura as she realized couldn't necessarily call Naruto her friend. She never really had been nice to him, and after that weird incident where Naruto had changed drastically... she was unsure if this new Naruto even had feelings towards her like the loud obnoxious one she was used to dealing with. But regardless of that fact, she was still worried about her teammate.

"He's my teammate sir," Sakura said with a slightly downed voice. Both Jiraiya and noted the change in her voice.

Jiraiya was quiet for a moment before he quietly said, "Follow me."

Sakura blinked a few times in confusion as did Ino before the white haired sannin turned on his heel and started to walk towards where the patients were normally healed. The passed through that ward though and soon entered a bit more intensive care area on the third floor where Jiraiya stopped outside a door.

"The gaki is in here," he said before he opened the door and stepped back for the two to enter. They both bowed their thanks before stepping into the light room.

And the second they had they both immediately noticed that Naruto was once again unconscious, but this time, his entire right arm was wrapped in bloody bandages. His breathing was also slightly labored from his deep shallow shaky breaths.

"This brat attacked me for some reason and had a fairly powerful jutsu backfire on him somehow," Jiraiya said as he followed the girls in a closed the door.

He had already been in here since he had brought the boy back from his assault. Jiraiya was slightly irritated though that when he had brought Naruto in here, as it was easily confirmed as to who it was that had attacked him, when almost all the nurses and doctors refused to help him, even under the order of a sannin. One female doctor had though, and she had been slightly panicked at the state the blond was in when they arrived.

Most of the muscle tissue and interior damage had been healed but the cuts on the outside had not healed and the bleeding had returned full flow.

His thoughts went back to the girls though as they both starred at him wide eyed before turning back to stare in disbelief at the blond.

"H-He at-attacked you?" Sakura asked, not wanting to believe that her teammate had done something that stupid.

Jiraiya's brow raised once more at the girl before answering, "Yes, but he was in a right state when he did, which is probably the cause of why his jutsu backfired on him. And if your wondering if I know why, I have no clue. Now, seeing as how you two are here, when the doctor Kanami comes back in tell her I have gone to speak with Hokage-sama."

And with a puff of smoke, Jiraiya vanished from the room, leaving two thunder stuck girls looking at the beat form of Naruto.

It was a few minutes lated that the shock started to wear off from the two girls. Once it had, Sakura was the first to move over to Naruto to see him closer.

Her emotions were haywire at the moment after having seen the bandages on his arm. They were almost entirely red with blood, and as long as she remembered, Naruto didn't bleed that much, even after taking a few serious cuts. He healed at an unnatural rate, so seeing him this injured worried her. It was even more so when she learned that Naruto had attacked one of the sannin unprovoked from the sounds of it.

"_What's happening to Naruto?"_ she thought worriedly as she quietly gazed at the blond while her friend came up beside her. Her thoughts were removed from her immediate mental functions though as Ino suddenly called her name.

"Yea Ino?"

"Why does Naruto have our names tattooed on his arms. And who are these other people tattooed on his chest as well?" Ino asked with curiosity.

Sakura turned back to look at the blond and her worry was wiped away by the sudden confusion she felt while looking at Naruto's left arm and his chest. There were names tattooed there she hadn't seen before.

It took her a couple of seconds to read all the names that she could see. It only confused her more though when she had read them all.

Ino, a little annoyed by Sakura's silence to her question, especially when it came to something as to why a boy she didn't know or like very well had her named tattooed upon his skin. The thought was aggravating enough and Sakura's silence only made it that much worse.

"So any idea's as to why the names of our graduating year's girls names as well as these other people I don't even know are tattooed on your teammates skin?"

"I... I don't know... As far as I know Naruto never had any sort of tattoo..." Sakura stated, though suddenly remembered the markings she had once see on his stomach when he had been channeling chakra back in Wave Country, as well as during his fight with Kiba once his shirt had fallen off.

Both girl's attention was brought away from starring at Naruto though as the door open once more, but this time a female doctor stepped through instead of Jiraiya. She paused briefly upon seeing Ino and Sakura starring at her but quickly set about the task of checking over Naruto. Ino and Sakura both watched in silence as she tended to the blond.

Both however, suddenly felt very sick once Kanami started to remove the bandages from Naruto's arm. Several parts of his arm had no skin to the point where they could the muscle tissue in his arm, and others, even where they could see the muscles, had lacerations down to the bone. But oddly, both girls thought, none of the wounds were bleeding profusely like the wounds looked they should. In fact, they weren't even bleeding at all.

Kanami moved swiftly once the bloodied bandage was gone to wrap it once more in a fresh clean one before turning to the girls with a bit of a scowl.

"May I help you two?" she asked, irritation lacing her words.

Both girls were a bit taken back at the doctors words, though Ino was the one to first regain her composure, even if it was only slightly so.

"We came by to see if Naruto was okay," she said, her voice slightly shaky after having seen the damage to Naruto's arm. Her thoughts were a bit elsewhere as she was wondering what jutsu said blond had been using to do _that much_ damage to himself.

"And you would be..." Kanami stated, leaving the ending open for the girls to finish.

"I'm his teammate," Sakura replied in a smaller voice, her eyes drifting over to the unconscious blond, "I... I was getting worried about my team. I'd heard Naruto had been in and out of here lately and wanted too see if he was here..."

Her voice was sad, that much was easily told by anyone who could actually hear her small quiet voice. Tears started to form in her eyes as well as she kept starring at Naruto.

"_What's happening to my team. Sasuke-kun is no where to be found... and Naruto... he keeps getting injured..."_ Sakura thought, her tears flowing freely as sobs started to rack her body.

Kanami loosened up once she saw Sakura crying and move quietly over to her and Ino. She place a hand on both girls shoulder's, making both of them look at her, though Sakura's vision was a bit blurry with her tears at the moment.

"Why don't you two come with me for a while. Naruto needs some rest and it seems like you could do with a few explanations," Kanami said with a soft smile, though looking directly at Sakura when she said her last sentence.

The two girls nodded mutely before being ushered out the room. Neither of them noticed however the faint red glow beneath the bandages on Naruto's arm or the faint sound of hissing, as if skin was being burned coming from the same spot.

**X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&**

Jiraiya sighed as he walked into the Hokage tower at a sedate pace. His body still ached from the sudden thrashing he had received at the hands of Naruto, though the medic-nins had taken care of his more important injuries already when he had brought Naruto to the hospital. He still had, however, a fair deal of bruises and aches left where the blond hat hit him.

He ignored completely the secretary and guards standing outside the Hokage's office, not really in the mood to deal with them, and slammed the double doors to Hokage's office open with a kick of his foot. He was irritated, he was sore, and he wanted answers.

But the second he stepped foot inside said office, he had to blink a few times to make sure he was seeing everything correctly. There were three people sitting in chairs before the Hokage, all three of them cloaked though they had their hoods down. Two ANBU stood on either side of the Hokage, both wearing masks he had never seen before on any of Konoha's ANBU. And two people standing behind the three sitting people, also in cloaks, though theirs were decorated with red clouds.

The last two people are what had him blinking the most though. He recognized the tell tale blue skinned shark like appearance of Kisame, as well as the unmistakable bored look of Uchiha Itachi. But he also knew full well what organization had its members wearing cloaks with red clouds on them as well.

And yet, even after he had entered, all he could do was blink. Today was just turning out to be the worst day in his life he figured and he couldn't entirely figure out why.

Sarutobi was genuinely surprised by the sudden appearance of one of his old students, even if it was rather rude. But he couldn't help but chuckle lightly at the humorous scene of him looking like a dear caught in headlights.

"Good of you to join us Jiraiya, though I am surprised by your sudden visit," Sarutobi said not trying to hide his amusement at his students expense.

His voice seemed to snap Jiraiya back to the land of the living though as he shook his head as if to clear his head before leveling a heavy glare on the Hokage.

"Is there a reason you have such... infamous company at the moment sensei?"

Sarutobi chuckled again at his student.

"I seem to be popular today in meeting with old friends is all," Sarutobi said with a smile adorning his old face.

This only made Jiraiya scowl more as his eyes darted to the bored look of Uchiha Itachi.

"Then why might you be having a traitor amongst your friends?" Jiraiya said, his hand lingering behind his back slightly where he kept his tools hidden under his long mane of hair.

Sarutobi didn't need to answer as sadness suddenly took the place of the bored look of Itachi as he looked away. That had Jiraiya faultier in his thought process as well as raise a question brow as he looked back to his teacher, who had a grimace and sad smile on his face.

"That is something we will leave for a later time Jiraiya. As for now, might I ask what has suddenly brought you to my office, seeing as how my many summons prior could not get you to return," Sarutobi asked as he looked intently at Jiraiya. He noted the bruises and the ruffled look of his student and wondered briefly if he had had a run in with his other student who was famous for her strength.

"Perhaps you can tell me why the Kyuubi kid was so intent on killing me not an hour ago?" Jiraiya questioned, remembering vividly how well the kid had managed to keep him off guard, blurry eyed, and had almost succeeded in killing him.

That drew a gasp from the occupants in the room, most especially, most to Jiraiya's growing confusion, Itachi and Kisame.

"Naruto-kun attacked you?" one of the ANBU asked, and by the soft and gentle sound of the voice, Jiraiya could tell that it was the female of the two. But his frown furrowed more slightly.

"Is there something I missed here because there seem to have been some major changes that have taken place recently?" Jiraiya demanded, his irritation growing.

"Then you should take a seat as that is what we had just been discussing," Sarutobi said as he pinched his nose slightly.

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Naruto bolted upright in his bed panting for breath. His body was covered in sweat, his right arm stun in pain, and his vision was blurred.

He looked around the room he was in, disoriented at first but quickly regaining his senses as well as his breath. He was shaking slightly from his sudden regaining of consciousness. It hadn't been anything bad, as his sleep had been blank, a first he was thankful for, but why he had woken up as if he had been having a nightmare was a mystery to him.

He looked outside and cursed slightly as he saw it was night. He was supposed to have met up with Hinata back at his apartment but the days events had taken a drastic turn for the worst.

Sighing he sat up and dropped his legs over the side of the bed, wincing slightly as a pain shot through his right arm. He looked down to the bandaged appendage and sighed once again as he saw the faint glow of red chakra beneath the white cloth.

"_So the wound hasn't been healed yet," _he thought grimly as his thoughts strayed back to his conversation with the Kyuubi about his leaking of massive amounts of chakra.

"_So only taijutsu then until we can get our chakra control back, great,"_ Naruto thought becoming irritated. It would definitely make things a lot harder if he wasn't allowed to use his ninjutsu, but the thought of doing more damage to himself, or worse, to his friends, if his chakra got out of control like with the _Rasengan_ he had made...

Sighing again as he clamped off those thoughts, he took a look around the room once more to see if everything was still the way it had been when he had left that morning.

To his surprise he saw Ino and Sakura laying on two cots that had been brought in, both sleeping soundly.

"_Wonder what brought them here and why Kanami-nee-chan let them stay,"_

Naruto thought as he moved over to only table in the room. On top was the bag he had managed to salvage from his apartment but the bag was deflated and a variety of weapons was laid out neatly on it as well as having nine scrolls lined up at the top.

Naruto's brow furrowed in confusion and irritation at the sight of the weapons and scrolls.

"Who the hell went through my bag?" Naruto growled out softly, making sure to keep his voice low to not wake the two sleeping girls.

"I see you are awake finally... Naruto," a _very_ familiar voice said behind the gennin though from the sound of it the person was on the other side of the room.

Naruto's anger went through the roof as he turned around slowly, his eyes turning crimson with cat like slits as he came to face Jiraiya fully.

No words were said from the blond as his glare became more fierce and his chakra spiked to high levels. The toad sannin winced slightly at the cold glare he was receiving and turned his eyes away from the gennin with a sad expression on his face.

This made the blond blink in surprise as his anger vanished in a heartbeat only to be replaced by confusion. Jiraiya had never not looked Naruto in the eye when he was talking, nor had he ever seen the hermit wince whenever he used his chakra.

"I'm... I'm sorry... Naruto..." the voice came out hoarse and slightly croaked. The only indication that it was even Jiraiya's voice for Naruto was the loan tear that escaped down the hidden side of his face, though Naruto saw the tear fall from his chin to the floor.

At the sight of the tear, Naruto's glare returned full force, though there was no anger or spiked chakra with it.

"What the hell are you apologizing to me for. You don't even know me," Naruto said venously.

Again, Jiraiya winced at the tone again before sighing.

"You're right... I don't... and for that also I am sorry."

"Why keep apologizing when I don't even know who the hell you are," Naruto seethed, trying to sound as if he didn't, hoping against hope that the toad sannin would just leave him be.

"Because I know Naruto... at least everything Sarutobi would disclose to me... as well as what I saw from what ever that was I saw..." Jiraiya rambled, not sure if he was making any sense.

He knew the part about him talking with his old sensei had gotten through as Naruto's face had gone from a glare to shock. Jiraiya, though, did not see the change in the blond's face and in turn, kept talking.

"... I know life hasn't been good hear Naruto... and this... this can't be any easier..."

"Stop!" a tense and hoarse whisper sounded, interrupting the old sannin's ramble. At the same time both Naruto's and Jiraiya's head snapped to the door.

What they saw was a furious looking Kanami.

"Jiraiya-sama," she said, her voice hoarse as it became obvious to the two was in such a way that showed she was trying not to scream.

Both were shocked, though in Naruto's perception he was currently more confused at Kanami's reaction. He was even more confused when Kanami marched up to Jiraiya poking him in the chest while glaring up at him.

"You... you left here without a word... without a trace... and you expect to be greeted with open arms..." Kanami whispered, her voice seething with anger.

Jiraiya had already turned pale once he recognized the doctor poking him in the chest. And currently his eyes were locked on said finger, knowing full well what damage it could do.

But before Kanami could continue her rant, a firm hand was placed on her shoulder. She turned around quickly, her tense glare fading immediately at the placid face of Naruto.

"Kanami-chan... it's alright," he said softly with a small smile before turning to stare back at Jiraiya, " though what she says is true, you know nothing of who I am. I will tell you now though, never expect a warm welcome from me."

Jiraiya visible winced at the blonds words but nothing more was said from the blond as he turned his back away from the sannin and Kanami.

He walked briefly over to the table where the weapons and scrolls were, before he picked up the first one that came into his sight. It was one that had a flame on it, or rather a flame that was swirling, its color mixing with black streaks.

"I'm assuming you were the ones to place these weapons and scrolls here and know what they are, at least with the scrolls anyways," Naruto said turning his head briefly to the side so his voice would be heard easier, though still quiet enough to not wake the girls.

He did not noticed the slight nod that Jiraiya's head did in response.

"If you truly are sorry, and I'm assuming you know full well already what is to come, figure out who these rightfully belong to. Then, _maybe_, you can say you are sorry."

Silence reigned supreme after that moment, tension filling the air. It only dissipated finally when there was a soft sounding puff, signaling the departure of Jiraiya from the room.

The second Naruto felt the presence leave, he set the scroll he was holding back down on the table where it had been. His shoulders relaxed, and he let out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding.

"Naruto-kun?" the soft voice of Kanami called from behind him.

"I'm fine Kanami-chan," Naruto said softly, noticing the worry in the doctors voice, "I think I should get some more rest."

He then silently walked back to his bed, never once turning to face the doctor before laying back in the bed on his side, and pulling the sheet up to his neck, also realizing for the first time that he was without a shirt.

Kanami, knowing full well that Naruto did not wish to speak anymore only nodded slightly to the silence before leaving quickly through the door and closing it softly. Before it was fully closed, she had to restrain herself from going back in as she heard soft whimpering coming from inside.

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Meanwhile, at a different part of the village, the five cloaked shinobi from Kamigakure were sitting in a simple rented room. The difference being however, that the only two people cloaked were now the ones with red clouds embroidered into them.

"You three do realize our plans have changed now with all that has happened correct?" Itachi asked.

The other three nodded, though from simple looks alone, it would be hard to tell they were shinobi at all.

The first was Hermione, though her hair was now miraculously tamed down and pulled back into a low ponytail. There was s till some hair that came out and framed her face however and cast shadows over he rounded face, making her chocolate brown eyes gleam whenever a light was able to reach them. Her attire was simple though. It consisted of a plain light blue tee shirt that was tucked into a pair of relaxed black jeans. Plain running sneakers adorned her feet and for all purposes, she looked like a simple civilian from the capital city. The only oddity that could be seen however was a piece of wood, resting on her ear as if it were a pencil.

The next, Draco, had a head of platinum blond hair slicked back also in a low ponytail though his ended just barely past his shoulders. He had a proud expression on his face and his silver gray eyes shown with confidence. His attire was a bit more formal than Sybil's but at the same time still relaxed. It was a simple dark green long sleeved dress shirt that was buttoned up almost all the way, leaving the top four open to let the shirt breath. He wore a pair of black khaki slacks, also relaxed, which had the green shirt loosely tucked into it. On his feet were simple pair of black dress shoes. The only odd part for him was that you could easily see a black piece of wood sticking out from his left sleeve, attached to it as if it were a type of arm guard.

Harry though stood out a bit more from his two teammates. It wasn't so much his clothes, as they were just as simple as the others. A plain black turtle neck sweater with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of tan slacks with black boots. He also had a wooden stick, though his was in his hands as he was twirling it slightly in his fingers while watching it intently. His hair was an untamed jet black not long like the others. Plain wire framed glassed framed his face, and it was those same glasses, that covered one of the two most distinguishing traits about the young man. His eyes were an intense emerald, seemingly glowing as if they had electricity buzzing within them. It was these eyes, and the lightning shaped scar on his forehead that made him stand out.

"Well nothing has really changed in the matter of what we are doing," Hermione said, "This new... development... should help us in the long run."

"That may be so, however," Harry started, " the factor where Naruto is involved has changed drastically. He already knows of Kisame and Itachi, and from what we know he already managed to bring the Hachimata back to this village. On top of that, Sabaku no Gaara has likewise changed, so it is likely Suna's involvement in the upcoming events will be changed. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a great deal of things that Naruto is keeping secret from Sarutobi and the others. Either for their safety or to try and change them."

"Then what do you propose we do?" Draco asked curiously.

"I think making ourselves known to Naruto would be the best choice of action at this point. He already knows of Kisame's and my presence," Itachi stated and the two nuke-nin shuddered slightly at the remembrance of the eerie smile the blond had given them during the preliminaries.

A brow raised from Draco brought the Uchiha back to his original thought process.

"So are you saying all of us should just waltz up and say 'Hi we're with Akatsuki and here to help you?' Don't you think he'd have a rather negative reaction to that if what Sarutobi told us was true?" Hermione asked.

"Not all of us," Kisame said as a wicked smirk crossed his face, "Only Hermione and Harry. For now at least."

The glare Draco leveled on Kisame made the shark like man chuckle before Itachi started to talk, effectively cutting of the argument that would have likely come to pass.

"If what Sarutobi told us is true, then he has no recollection of who you three are in general because you were never of the same time line he had. However, it would be advisable to only have one person for now and gradually make the rest of yourselves known over time. Normally, kunoichi would be used for such starting tasks... but where Naruto is concerned... I believe it would be best for Harry to meet with him first," Itachi stated.

"And why me?" Harry asked in a monotone voice with an eyebrow raised.

"Like minds think alike and you two are the most in common people that I can think of," Itachi said simply while leveling a heavy stare onto Harry. Their eyes were locked when he did this and just from the look in Itachi's eyes Harry got the message.

With a sigh Harry just said, "Fine. I'll go see if he's out of the hospital by tomorrow then."

He stood up at that and started for the door, stopping when Hermione's hand had reached out and grabbed his.

"Be careful," Hermione said once Harry had turned a questioning gaze at her.

A soft smile graced Harry's lips at the concern Hermione was showing for him as he slowly pulled out his wand.

"Hey now, no need to worry. Not that we have these back," Harry said as he motioned to where the stick was now hiding in a holster on his forearm, "there are very few things that we cannot do. Don't worry love, I'll be safe."

With that he bent down and gave Hermione a brief kiss on the lips before leaving through the door to the room.

"Awww, such a lady charmer," Draco mocked in a bittersweet voice at Hermione once the door was closed. It was obvious he was teasing Hermione though from the rather large friendly smirk adorned on his face.

"Need I remind you what I did to that Iwa-nin?" Hermione asked, without missing a beat, or even turning to look at the now very pale Draco and the fidgeting Itachi and Kisame.

"N-No ma'am," Draco squeaked out before snorting and under his breath and whispering, _"No fun at all."_

When a shadow suddenly loomed over him he wanted to bite his tongue and cower in fear, for hell hath no furry like a Hermione scorned.

Itachi and Kisame just shook their heads as Draco got off with a light beating, though they both had turned their private parts away from the rather irritated Hermione.

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Gaara sighed for what had to have been the thousandth time in one night. He truly wished he could have been asleep at the moment but his body had become so naturally accustomed to not sleeping, especially under times like the full moon as it was this evening.

"_Plus the fool was never a Jinchuuriki,"_ Gaara thought bitterly along those same lines, remembering the quote.

"**You know for a rather stoic and level headed boy you seem to be thinking a lot,"** a deep though slightly whiny voice said in his head as he starred at the moon atop one of the buildings in Konoha.

He had been at the hospital until the gennin, Lee, had awoken from his self induced slumber and had talked briefly with him about varying subjects. He wasn't to surprised though when said gennin stated they couldn't remember much of the fight they had, that being the first thing Gaara had asked, as well as his head was pounding with a massive migraine for some reason.

Gaara had a slightly good idea as to what it was if the boys sudden change in appearance had anything to do with it as well. His hair had suddenly grown for the hideous bowl cut to being half way down his back, the caterpillar like eyebrows had seemingly shrunk back into his face to become more normal, and he had noted with curiosity that he had also suddenly bulked out a bit more as if he had been training for two years straight.

But all that had left the red heads mind as he had been asked to leave the room once the doctors had realized Lee was once again with the land of the living. He wasn't one to complain really and had just left to find himself a nice quiet place to think. Problem for him was, his thoughts were anything but quiet, and have a centuries old demon talking back at you in your head didn't really help things any.

"Is there something you need Shukaku," he whispered to himself, not really caring if anyone was around watching and listening to him. Hell, he had spent the better part of his childhood thinking the insane babble that was in his head was his own mothers voice, twisted and distorted from the "love" she had for him.

"**How are you going to react when everything finally comes around?" ** the demon raccoon asked out of the blue, catching Gaara slightly off guard.

"I do not know. I don't really want to fight anyone from the leaf if everything you've shown me is real," Gaara whispered again.

"But that would be such a simple waste," Gaara suddenly heard behind him, and faster than he or his sand could keep up, he felt five fingers slam into the back of his neck. Then all he knew was blackness as the maniacal sound of silk voice laughing entered his ears.

"_This can't be good..."_ were Gaara's last sudden thoughts before blackness consumed him.


	10. Legends Arise

A/N:

The Heavens Curse

Chapter 9: Legends Arise

Sakura yawned slightly as he mind came back into the waking world. She had had an odd nights rest, her dreams consisting of an angry Naruto for some reason, though she knew he wasn't angry at her. She sat up slowly and stretched her arms over her head, her eyes still closed until she finished stretching.

When she was done she opened her eyes and nearly panicked for a second. The room she had woken up in wasn't her own, but it took her only a few brief moments before she realized that she was in the hospital and the previous days activities came back to her.

She turned then upon those thoughts and saw something she didn't expect. Naruto was on his bed, the covers pooled at his feet as if he had been thrashing in his sleep, and was curled in a fetal position and she could hear what sounded like whimpering coming from him.

ggxjd88

Briefly she looked over to where Ino had slept and noticed that the blond was starring wide eyed at Naruto as well.

"How long has he been like this?" Sakura asked cause it was slightly obvious Ino was quite more awake than Sakura was.

Ino seemed to snap out her reverie to look at her pink haired friend, and after seeing her concerned face said, "Since I woke up about fifteen minutes ago. He was louder then 'cause that's what woke me up."

It was then the two looked back to the boy as they heard his bed creak and saw him curled into a tighter ball and started to shake. His body was glistening in a slight sheen of sweat and Sakura figured he had been doing this since before he had awoken Ino.

And her body acted of its own accord then as her heart became pained at seeing Naruto like that. She quickly got out of her cot and padded over to Naruto's bed before sitting down beside him. She had sat down on the side that had his back turned to her and gently she reached out and touched the blonds arm.

She jerked it back slightly upon touching him. His skin was burning up, but after her initial shock she placed her hand on his shoulder once more. Gingerly, she shook him, and said, "Naruto, Wake up."

Oddly, after she had spoken her words and touched his arm, the shaking stopped as did the whimpering. His tensely curled body relaxed and stretched slightly.

And then Sakura got the shock of her life when suddenly Naruto sprang up from the bed and with inhuman speed was crouched on the floor on all fours.

He was starring directly at Sakura, and she noted with a sudden amount of fear, that his eyes were blood red and slitted.

"Naruto..." she tried to call, but her voice failed her after his name. Her body was screaming for her to run but her mind had locked up in fear and had shut down all functions of moving her body.

Then, in a blur of motion, Naruto's body suddenly changed as he suddenly leaped at her. It went from that of a humans to something more canine in a flash, before her world went dark.

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Sakura sat bolt upright breathing heavily. Her heart was racing, her body slightly sweating, and the air in her lungs scarce. She looked around wildly, trying to get her bearings. Everything seemed a blur at first until her heart slowed down and her breath leveled back to normal.

She was still in the hospital, she noted, and she was still in the same cot that Kanami had brought her to sleep in. With a sudden overwhelming sense of foreboding she turned around slowly to look at where Naruto lay. What she found was an empty bed, and a little of her anxiousness ebbed away.

Releasing a held breath she turned to where Ino lay, to find the blond starting to stir as well. Sakura felt a little peeved at the seemingly normal way Ino was waking up as opposed to her rather sudden awakening. Although it was slightly amussing to Sakura as for a moment Ino seemed to forget where she was and looked around frantically before looking at Sakura and a look of understanding suddenly crossed her face. Her neck turned briefly to where Naruto should be laying before looking back to the pink haired girl.

"How long has he been gone?" Ino asked, a little miffed that the blond male had vanished so suddenly.

"I don't know. I only just woke up myself," Sakura said as she climbed out of bed. Once out she readjusted her outfit to be more comfortable, as did Ino.

Both girls jumped slightly though when they heard the door open and spun quickly to face who was coming in. What they were greeted with was the small smile of Naruto as he lightly scratched the back of his head.

"No need to be so jumpy ladies. It's just me bringing you some breakfast," Naruto said as he held up his other hand which held a tray with several pieces of toast, fruit, as well as two bowls with a small carton of milk and box cereal in each of them, "Sorry it isn't much but the cafeteria didn't have a wide selection this early in the morning."

"Even though it was Kanami who had to get this since they wouldn't let me in there," Naruto thought afterwards.

Both Sakura and Ino were flabbergasted at Naruto as he walked over to the small table and set the tray down. They were too shocked to speak. But it was only as Naruto started to make his way to the exit that one of them, Ino, found her voice.

"Naruto..." she called, said blond stopping in his tracks and looking over his shoulder at the other blond with a questioning look.

"What's with having a bunch of girls name's as well as other peoples names tattooed on you?"

Naruto's entire body tensed visible at the question as well as having a sad expression suddenly coming across his face as he turned back to face the door.

"You weren't supposed to see those..." he whispered, the two girls barely even hearing him. They both could also note the depressed tone that accompanied his words.

"Why weren't we supposed to see them, because for one I am more than a little irritated that you have my name included among those on your body," Ino demanded, her anger clearly present. After all, it was just plain weird that Naruto, of all people, had her name tattooed on him.

However her anger ebbed slightly as she saw the blond flinch greatly at her words, as well as an overwhelming sense of sadness filled the room as well.

"I... I'm sorry but I can't tell you... not yet... maybe sometime... but not now... please forgive me," Naruto said, his voice even quieter than before, as well as strained and sounding utterly defeated.

And in a simple puff of smoke, he was gone, leaving two very shocked and even more confused kunoichi behind in the room.

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Hyuuga Hiashi was a man who knew there was little information within the village that could be held from him. Being the head of the largest clan within Konoha had its benefits, but it was on this morning that he wished he was not as... prudent with information.

His... talk, if you could call it that with the great fox demons had opened his eyes to a great deal of things. Most of which had, upon hearing them, set his anger to rise, others he was already partial aware of, but there were a few that upon learning... he was both shocked and furious to learn of.

But even still, the foxes words... he could not pull his thoughts away from that conversation.

FLASHBACK

"Tell me Hyuuga, how much do you know of your the boy you so clearly wish to have exterminated?" the dark overwhelming voice of Kyuubi echoed throughout the room. They had found an unoccupied room a decent ways away from Naruto's room to have their... conversation.

"Very little..." the Hyuuga patriarch replied, keeping his voice even.

"Then I am going to assume from your reaction you know who his father is then?"

"Minato...." Hiashi said, his voice suddenly become solemn and quiet as he looked to the ground.

"So I'm assuming you know of those eyes of his then?" the Kyuubi asked, his voice genuinely curious.

"No... well not entirely I think. I know of the one marking in them... it was something Minato had come up with but I thought had discarded," Hiashi answered, then stayed silent awaiting for a possible explanation to the question he had been asked.

But none came.

"What do you know of the Greater Beings then Hyuuga?"

Here Hiashi stiffened, showing Kyuubi that he did know something about them, making the fox level a deadpanned look telling him he better start explaining this instant.

"I know there are those that are considered the four divine ones, while there is also the those of the Damned Nine, also known as the Biju. Aside from that, not much else..."

Kyuubi just starred at the man silently after he went quiet.

"So you know of Byakkuu...."

The reaction Kyuubi got was not what was expecting of Hiashi.

The elder Hyuuga's eyes narrowed as his muscles tensed. His anger became palpable and his Byakkugan activated from his surge of anger and chakra.

".. it would seem you do know."

"Not of my own choosing was my daughter made to be the container of Byakkuu's essence. At least not on the intent to perfect the Byakkugan itself," Hiashi stated, his demeanor set in a scowl and glarring at a wall as if looking through it. He, obviously, had forgotten with whom he was speaking too right then as his anger had clouded over any fear he had for the Kyuubi.

"So you know of your own clans actions?" Kyuubi asked, his voice genuinely shocked, even for his demon nature. From what he remembered of this man prior was nothing more than a cold hearted bastard to the very end of his days. But he could smell something that hadn't been noticeable before from him. Mixed in with all the anger and hatred, and air of arrogance and sense of self pride, he smelt fear. Not the typical fear that usually comes from being in a life or death situation, but the fear for another's saftey.

Hiashi seemed to snap his resolve back together then as the words echoed in his head. When he looked back to the Kyuubi, his face was set in a neutral expression, but both Haku and Kyuubi could see a deep regret in his eyes.

"Of my clan's actions, there is very little that I do not know," he stated firmly but then his shoulders slumped as his head hang forward, "But of the Elder Council's actions, I know very little. What things I know most is from what I learned from one of them just after his wife had passed away and he had had too much sake for his own good."

"He was drunk and sad enough to the point where if he had been left in anyones hands, many a secret of not only the Hyuuga, but of this village would have passed from his lips. Two such secrets, have made me regret many a course which I have chosen since I was deemed to be the head of my clan. The first is that of my daughter Hinata, who upon birth had Byakkuu sealed within her, in hopes of the Byakuugan become more powerful. The second was them convincing me that, even though I knew Naruto to not be the demon that many believe he is, that he was still a threat that could possibly under your influence at any moment."

At this Haku couldn't help try and hold in a laugh, though failed horribly in the process making it come out as a snort. Kyuubi gave her a narrow eyed glare as Hiashi looked at her confused.

She sighed from their reactions before saying, "Naruto-kun as been 'under the influence' as you so say, of Kyuubi since the day Kyuubi-san was sealed within him. I think possessed would be a more correct term with which your elders meant."

Kyuubi only had an annoyed grin at her answer as Hiashi gave a small one, realizing the foolhardy of his own choice of words.

"Well, it looks like you know most of what I had wanted to talk with you about Hyuuga," Kyuubi stated as Hiashi's attention came back to him, "However there are things that you must know before you leave this place. Your clan is planning to overthrown you, or rather your elder's are planning on assassinating you so they can place someone of like mind within your position so they can 'restore their honnor' so to speak. If you do not wish to believe me instantly for what I have told you, in two day's time the elder's will call an emergency meeting to discuss several things, but seemingly forget to notify yourself. If you wish to know more, find whatever you can from them, as I have already provided you with the paths of which way your clan can go."

ENDFLASHBACK

The two days had come and gone, and he done as the fox suggested. Mostly out of sheer curiosity, but that day when he went searching for the elders they were no where to be found. He did not know fully what they were planning but by the sheer innocence they tried to radiate the next day, he knew something was in motion, and it was probably something he most definitely would not like.

He sighed for the what seemed the thousandth time in the past few days as he sipped a cup of tea. His office was mostly dark, the only light being the small candle that burned on his desk, casting dancing shadows across his face, somehow mirroring his emotions as they changed while he mulled over the thoughts in his head.

But as he sipped the last of his tea and set the cup upon its plate, he came to choose a course of action, but to do so, he needed to make certain amends. He stood silently and cracked his neck to remove the stiffness in it before snuffing his candle and striding to his door then through it with a purpose. He had one particular person in mind that must see...

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Time flew by quickly after that week. Many a traveler and civilian, businessmen and nobility, came into the the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The Chuunin exams had drawn a large crowd this year with many people showing up, and Konoha's security had been put to the utmost test as it had screened, checked, double checked, triple screened, and then checked again, each person who entered the village. With what Sarutobi knew from what Naruto had told him, this tedious and frustrating task, as much as he did not wish to subject his shinobi to such precautions, was a necessity that he must take. After all, an invasion in the works, even just the rumor of one, was not something to take lightly in any village, especially one of such prestige as Konohagakure.

It was on this day though that Rock Lee was also finally allowed out of the hospital. His injuries from his fight with Sabaku no Gaara had been healed over, for the most part, and he was able to be released, though on strict orders to not over exert himself with any of his activities. Gai-sensei was there with him, though very shocked at the moment. Mission orders had kept him away from the village for the better part of the down time between the second part and the finals of the Chuunin exams so it was a massive shock to him to see Lee when he did.

The reason for such was that Lee's entire personality seemed to have changed. Granted he still had his energetic personality as well, he was just more... laid back at the same time. If one were to describe him upon first appearance, they would say he seemed contently at peace with the soft smile on his face and the aura of contentment he seemed to radiate. On top of that his appearance had changed as well.

Gone was the green jump suit that Gai had given him, replaced by the white Chinese style shirt and black pants he wore when he was in the academy. His hair had grown back out again as well, though Kanami, who was the one to braid his hair, stated that it was more like a weed considering it grew to his mid back, even when braided, in about a week. The eyebrows that he used to have as well seemed to have vanished, though no one could really see them behind the long, thick bangs that shadowed his eyes. His physique was still the same if not just a touch more bulkier, but the interesting part was that his height had increased to be just barely above Gai's shoulders now.

Gai for his part could only stare slack jawed at his pupil as he checked out of the hospital. He was amazed at how calm Lee seemed, while at the same time seemed to be brimming with energy.

"Arigato Lee-san, remember to take care of yourself and no strenuous activities until we can fully heal you," the receptionist said to Lee as he handed her back his check out form.

"Mah, mah, I won't forget," Lee said with his soft smile, making the receptionist blush a bit, "Arigato for your care. Ja ne."

With that Lee walked over to the still gapping Gai, the smile never leaving his face.

"Ohayo, Gai-sensei. Ready to go?"

"Lee... what... how... are you sure you're feeling alright?" Gai asked, his mind still trying to process this new Lee.

"I feel great Gai-sensei," Lee said with a wide toothy grin, "I've never felt better!"

"Are yo..." Gai started but was suddenly interrupted by a shout from across the lobby.

"Lee-kun, wait a second!" a feminine voice called, forcing both Gai and Lee to look where the voice had come from. When they turned they saw Kanami pushing a woman in a wheel chair. Gai, for his part, had to do a double take at the woman in the chair when he saw her.

Her purple hair was tied in a ponytail that hung over her shoulder and went about a foot past that. The soft, delicate, but at the same time playful face and sea green eyes, for a second Gai thought he was seeing the only other purple haired person he knew.

"Ohayo Kanami-san. What can I do for you?" Lee greeted as Kanami wheeled up the smiling woman.

"Ohayo Lee-kun. Could I ask a favor from you? Could you escort and keep Kushina-chan here company at the Finals today?" Kanami asked.

"Ah, so that is your name miss. Of course Kanami-chan, and a pleasure to meet you Kushina-san," Lee said, offering his hand.

"Ohayo, Lee-san. A pleasure to meet you as well," Kushina said, her smile never leaving her face as she bower her head slightly to Lee.

Lee's own grin got just a touch larger at the pleasant woman's voice before he move behind the wheel chair and started to push her out of the building. Gai, still agape, followed silently after them as he watched in silence. This woman was not Anko, but he had never seen her before... yet at the same time he felt as if he had seen her before.

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"Hmmm. This... is bigger than I expected," Shikamaru thought as he looked around from the arena floor. People lined the viewing seats encompasing the arena him and the other finalists were in.

Well... almost all the other finalists.

Naruto and Sasuke still had yet to be seen within the village.

"Mendokuse... where the hell are those two idiots?" Shikimaru thought as he looked around briefly. The proctor for these matches had already stated that if neither Sasuke or Naruto were on time for their matches, they would be disqualified. As it was already, the matches had be altered slightly from the end of the preliminary ones. The first match was still Naruto against Hyuuga Neji. Shikimaru scoffed at the thought of the older genin. He had had to deal with the emo Sasuke all throughout the academy, but this guy took emo-ness, as well as arrogance, to a level that made Sasuke look like a social butterfly.

The next match was Shino against the Sabaku no Kankuro, third was himself versus Sybil, his original opponent being Sabaku no Temari. He groaned slightly at that, he didn't want to fight a woman, one that had not only ended another shinobi's ability to have kids. Then there was that weird sound guy against the mysterious Katsuhito. After that was the equally mysterious Gracien versus Sabaku no Temari, and then finally Sabaku no Gaara against Uchiha Sasuke.

"Will all combatants please make their way to the viewing deck, and the first matches shinobi please stay in the arena," the proctor, whose name was Genma, stated loudly.

The stands were buzzing with anticipation as the gennin made their way to the viewing deck, though Neji didn't move since this was his match after all.

Once the last gennin had made it through the passageway that led to the deck, Neji looked over at the proctor and asked, "Proctor-san, isn't Uzumaki Naruto disqualified since he is not present for this match?"

"Who isn't present Hyuuuga-teme?" a voice sounded in front of the young prodigy as his sight snapped forward and his eyes narrowed.

For there standing before him was none other than Uzumaki Naruto... the pest who had cheered on his dear cousin. His eyebrows furrowed though for he noticed the blond seemed to have come prepared as his attire seemed to have change yet again.

On his head, covering his bright sun kissed blond hair, was a black hatsuburi, the only difference being the plate that covered his forehead. Instead of it being the standard black encasing, it had been modified to hold his hitai-ate.

Gone too was the ANBU style body armor to be replaced with something Neji thought would better fit a samurai in the Daimyo's service. There was a black material that resembled that of a kimono tucked beneath a red sash. Neji had a feeling though that material was well reinforced with shinobi grade chainmail underneath the silky looking exterior. On the shoulders were armor plates that had alternating, polished black and dull silver metal. These plates also hung down slight in patches from underneath the sash at the bottom that covered both of the blond's hips as well as the base of his spine and rear.

His leggings had only been altered slightly from the ANBU style cargo pants. They were a bit bulkier than what most ANBU were seen wearing, and had a bit of orange trim, as well as several well placed, an well as well covered patches, that no doubt had some form of protection underneath. If Neji would say it looked like anything, he would have said it, again, looked like the haidate Samurai wore.

On his hands were still the standard ANBU fingerless gloves and forearm combination armor. However, there were several kanji and symbols upon it that Neji had not seen before.

His boots and shin guards seemed to have been the only things that didn't change, well nothing extravagantly anyways. He still had the black boots in which his pants tucked into, and the shin guards over top. The only difference being that shinguard and boots seemed to be more meshed together as Neji couldn't see where the boot ended and the knee high shinguard started.

The most interesting part of Naruto's new ensemble though were two distinct things. The first was the fact that there was no visible weapons pouch, and the second being that there were only, or at least seemed to only be, three weapons upon the blonds person.

At his hips were two kunai, though each were as long as a ninja-to. They also had an intricate golden design where the handle met the foot and half long black blade. Then on his back was a sword, of what type and make Neji could not be sure of since he coudln't see the sheath, but from the design of the handle alone, he guessed it was probably a Katana of some sort.

"Well, well, well. The pest desides to show his face," Neji goaded as he stared into the glaring intense blue eyes of Naruto.

"And you still seem to lack the filter on the brain mouth thing," Naruto stated casually.

Neji's anger spiked at the small jab, the veins on the side of his face already bulging as the Byakkugan was ready to activate at a moments notice. "It does not matter how much you change your outfit, the fates have already deemed me the victor of this match today," he growled out as his slid into the standard Jyuuken stance.

Naruto stood stock still, his arms crossed over his chest, still glaring at the Hyuuga in front of him.

The proctur Genma looked between the two briefly, waiting to see if they would say anything else before raising his hand into the air.

"The first match of the final stage of the Chuunin Selection Exam, Uzumaki Naruto versus Hyuuga Neji, HAJIME!" he yelled, slicing his hand through the air signaling the fight to start.

Neither combatants moved for several seconds, both waiting for the other to make their move. It was the Hyuuga who attacked first, his stance moving slightly, before he broke into a dead sprint towards Naruto.

He made to be about three feet in front of the blond before he stopped dead in his tracks. The young Hyuuga would have continued through with his attack, but at the moment, his heart was pounding in his chest as his eyes were open wide with anger and fear.

For Naruto hadn't moved any piece of his body other than his hand, which was now in front of his chest in a half seal. It was this particular seal though that had stopped Neji in his tracks.

"How.... How do you know that seal!?" Neji shouted in a panic.

"I told you before Hyuuga-teme to not underestimate me," Naruto spoke, his words cold and full of hatred.

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Up in the stands Hyuuga Hiashi gripped the cloth covering his knees tightly as his brow furrowed.

"How could he possibly know how to use that seal?" he thought slightly miffed as well as confused.

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"Eh?! What the hell just happened?" Kiba shouted from his seat amongst the mass of people. He was sitting with the rest of the gennin from the Rookie Nine that had not made it to this stage in the exam.

To his right was Hinata, back in her standard clothing that she always wore, though her hair was slightly longer now. She had not seen hide nor hair of Naruto since the day he had been released, and the only thing stopping her from dropping into the arena and giving the blond the worst beating of his life was the fact that he had left her a small letter saying he would be training alone and would make up for this sudden absence later.

She smiled slightly though for the letter had also contained a key to his appartment and she had well... attacked it with a remodeling frenzy so to speak. Not to mention she had also been living there ever since as well, fully intending on following through with everything she had said to her father in the hospital.

Just to her right though were Chouji, Ino, Sakura, and her cousin's teamate Ten-Ten.

All of them had something similar on their minds though to Kiba's outburst. Even the great many of Chuunin and Jounin scattered throughout the stadium had similar thoughts. Hyuuga were not know to be swayed by a simple seal...

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In the arena, Neji was all but foaming at the mouth in anger and fear. Seeing someone, especially someone who was not even a Hyuuga, standing before him with a seal that could kill him, was something he wished to never see.

"How... How do you know..." Neji all but growled through clenched teeth, though he dared not move an inch.

"You mean about the whole Caged Bird Seal placed upon your forehead? About the faulty reasoning behind why the Hyuuga are split into two houses? About the incident involving your father? Or are you referring to how, at this very moment, regardless of what your so called fate dictated, I quite literally have your life in the palm of my hand?" Naruto asked, his face kept in a very neutral expression.

Neji's eyes grew bigger and bigger as Naruto spat out many things that he thought the blond knew nothing about. His voice seemed to fail him too, as it opened slightly the closed, making him do a very good impersonation of a fish.

Naruto chuckled darkly at the Hyuuga's reaction. If he just had a camera right now, he would take a picture and make print outs of it for everyone he knew. After all, how often is a Hyuuga left slack jawed?

"Tell ya what Neji. This whole Caged Bird Seal thing is a very cowardly way to win a fight. So, I have a proposition for you," Naruto started as he dropped the seal but kept his arms still crossed across his chest.

This snapped Neji out of his stupor as he glared slightly at the blond, though not as intensely as before. "And what of this proposition?" he asked.

"If I win this match, you cut it with the fate crap, and stop the 'Holier than thou' bull."

"And should you fail?" Neji asked, his body more relaxed now that Naruto no longer had his hand in the seal, though still tense since at a moments notice he could activate it.

"I remove that Caged Bird Seal from your head and admit to your 'fate cannot be altered' preachings," Naruto stated bluntly.

The stadium fell deathly silent.

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"That is a most interesting claim that gennin is making Sarutobi-san," the Kazekage stated as he peered down at the two combatants from the Kage box.

"It is indeed," Sarutobi mumbled grimly, his thoughts turning to how this could start something amongst the Hyuuga that he really did not want to have to deal with.

"Do you think that child can actually follow through with such a feat as removing such a seal?" the Kazekage questioned as he turned to look at the old shinobi.

"I do not know. I would assume it to be a false declaration, because even my predecessor, the Yondaime Hokage, could not find a way to remove such a seal," Sarutobi replied as he leaned a bit forward to get a better view of the arena.

"But maybe he can actually pull it off. With everything that has happened as of late with Naruto-kun, he very well may be able to back up such a claim. Especially if the armor he is wearing now is that armor.."

"Well then this will end up being quite the show won't it?" the Kazekage said, his voice dripping with an unnerving amount of glee.

Sarutobi leaned back then, looking out of the corned of his eye at the Kazekage. If what Naruto said was true, this was Orochimaru, his corrupted and vile student, and the real Kazekage had long since been dead.

"Indeed it shall."

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"Impossible..." Neji said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Well the choice is your's now Neji. No fate, no Main House member starring you down. It's now a fight between you... and me. And you can either try and free yourself from said 'cage of fate' that you like to shout to any and everyone, or you can be like a good little servant and stay in your place," Naruto stated fiercly as he got into a readied stance.

It was silent for a few moments more as Neji mulled things over in his head. His mind was made up though, long before he even started to think of a decision. He would be free of his seal... no matter what the cost.

In a blinding display of speed, he charged at Naruto, his hands already brimming with the power of Jyuuken. Naruto's smile only seemed to widen as his muscles tensed.

And thus the fight began...

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"Ah has the match started yet Ten-ten-chan?" a voice suddenly said from Ten-ten's right, startling her slightly since she wasn't expecting anyone to be there.

The bun haired weapons mistress turned to the voice and had her eye's nearly buldge out of their sockets, as did the rest of the rookie nine whose attention had been diverted to the loud, but calm, voice.

"Lee-kun?! Is that you?" Ten-ten asked incredulously. His appearance, his posture... everything about him aside from the fact he still seemed to be brimming with energy had changed about the taijutsu specialist.

"Indeed it is Ten-ten-chan, has the first match started yet?" he asked, trying to stand on his tippy toes to look over the railing from where he stood. It was a little difficult though considering he had someone in a wheel chair in front of him.

It was then that Ten-ten noticed the purple haired woman sitting in said wheel chair, and the fact that Lee had his hands resting on the handles, indicating he was the one escorting the woman around.

"Ah, gomen ma'am, I'm Ten-ten, one of Lee-kun's teammates," Ten-ten greeted with a small bow of her head from her seat. The woman just smiled at her pleasantly, though it looked like she had a calculating eye for a second.

"Hello Ten-ten-san, my name is Namikaze Kushina, a pleasure to meet such a young beautiful girl," she greeted, her voice just as pleasant as her smile.

At the other end of the row, Hinata's head snapped to Kushina and her eye's widened.

"Naruto-kun's Kaa-san is awake!? And here?!?! Oh no..." she throught frantically, memories of her talk with Naruto about the invasion he had dealt with in the past rushing through her mind.

"A pleasure to meet you too Namikaze-san," Ten-ten greeted with a blush on her face.

"Please, call me Kushina, I'm not fond of all those unwritten formalities. Lee-kun, could you take me closer to the edge please, I'd like to see my son's match," Kushina stated.

It was an odd sound Ten-ten figured, because the comment was so simple, but at the same time it held the tone of a command when dealing with what to call her.

"Wait a second... did she say son? But Neji's mother has been dead for years...." Unbeknown to Ten-ten, similar thoughts were going the the rest of the rookie nine's heads, well minus Hinata's who had her eyes locked on the purple haired woman, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Of course Kushina-san, I'm rather anxious to see how Naruto-kun is doing as well," Lee stated in his usually bubbly tone and wheeled her close enough to the rail that she could look over to see the match as he himself moved to stand beside her and look over as well.

Both were oblivious to the completely dumbfounded looks the rest of the rookie nine gave them.

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In the arena, Naruto quickly side stepped a palm thrust to his chest as he sent an elbow crashing into Neji's solar plexus, making the 'older' gennin go sailing backwards only to flip backwards and land in a kneeling position.

So far, they had only been using taijutsu. Well... Naruto had only been using taijutsu, since it was considered a 'crime against the clan to use their hands for any attack other than Jyuuken'.

Neji was a bit worse for ware, his breaths coming in a bit labored gasps, mostly from the hit he had just taken though. Up until that point, him and the blond had been even. Each blow either evaded or parried with expert precision, and he had even seen the blow coming, had even tried to dodge, but the blond had moved faster than he had anticipated.

"You know, I'd say that made for a good warm up. How about we start fighting for real now?" Naruto said with his foxy grin as he cracked his knuckles and neck as Neji regained the air in his lungs.

The Hyuuga said nothing as a smirk crossed his face. He then bent low, his left arm out stretched out in front of him, his right up and behind him, his weight being placed upon his back foot.

"Big gun's already eh? Well let's have fun with this" Naruto thought as he readied his own stance, the same one he had used against Kiba in the preliminary matches.

It was still for a second or two, and then by an unspoken signal, Neji launched his attack, his speed drastically increased as he pumped his muscles with chakra for his next attack.

His body span, trying to confuse Naruto ever so slightly, just enough so he could get the first strikes off. He knew that calling out the name of this attack was useless. Well, with how Naruto was fighting it was useless. Most people he had fought had always announced their attacks as they went, helping them focus their chakra on the action that they wanted it to mold into. He had learned early on, calling out the name of an attack after you mastered it, did little else outside of letting your enemy know what was coming. The only time that he still did it was either when he lost control of his emotions, which happened rarely, or he needed to focus more power into his strikes, which was an even rarer occurrence.

Right as his first strike of his attack should have hit though, his finger tips felt nothing but air. And that's when his world was rocked with pain.

Naruto had moved just barely out of danger of the Hakke: Rokujyu-Yonshou, and had initiated a blinding attack of his own.

For Neji, with his Byakkugan active, he could see every hit as they came, and almost in slow motion he figured since each hit felt like he was getting hit by Gai-sensei's hardest punches.

First came the left jab to his face, making his head real back. Next was the lightning quick left hook that snapped his head to the side. A millisecond later was a right uppercut to his stomach that lifted him off his feet slightly and removed any wind left in his lungs. Down came a left cross hook a split second later, the hit connecting with his shoulder forcing his knees to almost buckle as if his body had suddenly been put under a great weight. Next was another elbow to his chest that pushed him a bit farther back and removed any chance of getting any air into his lungs in the next couple of seconds. Then came the right snap hook across his face that snapped his head this time in the opposite direction, but was shortly followed this time by a left uppercut that raised him off the ground easily this time by almost half a foot.

And even as he floated in the air for that brief second from that last hit to the one he could watch, he was amazed at how much chakra suddenly formed in the blonds right fist, before it snapped out straight into his stomach and sent him flying backwards at an incredible rate. Fast and hard enough to put him through one of the trees and leave a decent sized indentation of Neji's body in the stone wall of the arena.

Once again, the arena fell into a dead silence. Not only had a no-name, by shinobi standards just evaded and countered one of the prestigious Hyuuga's clans most powerful attacks, he had unleashed one of his own, that, to many people, probably had just won him the match.

The proctor in the arena whistled in awe as he looked at the place Neji had ended up. He had barely been able to keep up with the movements of Naruto's fists, but he was impressed by the sheer power the hits held.

He was about to walk over and see if the Hyuuga was unconscious but stopped went he felt a slight chakra pulse. Apparently the blond had felt it too and whirled around, his hands already moving to block something, but apparently not fast enough.

"Hakke: Hyakku Ni Jyu-Hashou!" Neji's voice echoed throughout the stadium.

If Naruto's strikes had been blindingly fast, Neji's were damn near invisible to the naked eye. In less than two seconds, Neji had struck Nartuo one hundred and twenty eight times, and then, to add more power to his attack, on his very last blow, his body glowed and intense blue before spinning violently.

"DAI KAITEN!!"

The blue glow errupted into a hurrican force storm around the spinning Hyuuga, and at the edge of the attack, Naruto was sent flying backwards, faster than he had sent Neji and slammed into the wall, right next to a still unconscious looking Neji. As he slammed into the wall though, the one that was embedded into the wall next to him exploded into a cloud of smoke and was replaced with a log.

"Uuuuggghhhhh, okay, I forgot how much those moves sting," Naruto though as he fell out of his crater in the wall and landed on his hands and knees.

"Yes, but check out your control now kit... that attack did more help than harm for once," Kyuubi's voice echoed in his head

Naruto blinked in confusion as he coughed up a bit of blood from the last attack. But then something clicked. Normally when he had been hit with that attack before, his chakra was closed off, period. On top of that, it was extremely difficult to move any part of his body.

Yet, he could still feel chakra flowing through his system. In fact... it was flowing faster and faster as the seconds passed, and his muscles only ached from the sting of the hits, not from the lock up the Jyuuken normally inflicted. Hell, his reserves, which were large to begin with, started to fill back up at an incredible rate... the fastest he'd felt since he had gone back in time.

"What's going on?"

"My guess is that those strikes closed your tenketsu down to normal levels so you are no longer 'bleeding' so to speak, excess chakra. As it stands at the moment as well, my own reserves seem to be replenishing faster now as well,"

If it wasn't for the fact that he was in a match currently, he would of stood up and cheered in joy.

"Proctor... this match... is over..."

The voice and statement cut through Naruto's thoughts instantly as his head lifted to look at the Hyuuga. It seemed he hadn't escaped the hits from his last attack and had only preformed the replacement jutsu at the last second before he hit the wall.

His clothes were tattered, he had a split lip, a black eye, a cut on his forehead that was bleeding badly, a swollen cheek, and was panting heavily from the exertion of his last attack.

"Who said the match was over teme," Naruto said as he stood back up, shocking not only Neji and the proctor, but many in the auidience as well. After all, very few ever retained consciousness after being hit by two of the Hyuuga's strongest attacks, and fewer still were able to stand and talk afterwards.

And even as he said his words though, Naruto reached behind him and pulled out the sword from its sheath on his back. Discretly, Naruto looked from where Neji was standing, to above the Hyuuga. He was in perfect alignment with the seat of the Kazekage.

"What the... hell... are you?" Neji gasped out as he got into a weak defense. It was clear that he was running out of chakra, as well as injured, but Naruto looked to be right as rain, as if he hadn't just been fighting for the past ten minutes or had taken two very powerful strikes.

Naruto chuckled darkly at the question as he moved his left foot forward spreading it an equal distance from his right foot behind them and balancing on them both evenly. The sword, which truly was just a simple katana from the looks of it, the hilt resting in his right hand, the tip of the blade resting in his outstretched left hand.

"You once spoke of not knowing what it was like to be cursed, of how terrible and painful it was to be marked with a seal that was beyond your control, and that it controlled your fate," Naruto started, and to Neji's horror, chakra started to poor out of the blond. Not the standard blue, or the dazzling eleven colors he had seen in the preliminaries. This had no color, least no to the naked eye, but the Byakkugan could see it.

And it was a maelstrom. It lashed this way and that, a rhythmic chaotic fire of chakra. It danced around Naruto like a flame, a raging inferno that grew bigger by the second. Sheer terror gripped at Neji as he starred at the blonde in front of him. And as suddenly as it had started, it vanished back inside Naruto. So caught off by the release of pressure, Neji's let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, and deactivated his Byakkugan.

But… to his sheer horror, the chakra suddenly exploded out of Naruto more violent then ever, and this time visible. Everyone in the arena was shocked into silence at the sight.

Blood red chakra was spiraling around the blond, flares lashing out and into the ground, tearing it up as it spun.

Many of the older shinobi could scarcely breath at the sight and feel of the chakra. They knew it far too well, for it was that of the nine tailed fox.

"You talk about fate as if you even understand what it means," Naruto said, his voice coming out deep and throaty, as if he was growling, "But you know nothing of what you preach."

He changed his stance then, spreading his feet a shoulder's width apart, both squarely underneath him as he faced completely forward. The sword was still held in his right hand, held horizontally to the ground while he pressed two fingers against the flat of the blade next to the hilt. Slowly he started to move his fingers down the blade, and to everyone's fascination and to Neji's horror, the space on the blade that Naruto's fingers passed over, started to glow as deep a red as the chakra swirling around him.

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In the stands Tenten's eyes grew wide as she gripped a locket around her neck. Her heart raced as timed seemed to slow down watching Naruto's fingers slide along the blade.

"_How is this possible? No one is supposed to know of that technique…"_ she screamed internally,

FLASHBACK

Tenten panted as she rested her hands on her knees. She had been training with Neji for the past two weeks since the end of the preliminary matches. The Hyuuga prodigy had been getting her help to perfect his kaiten, her resourcefulness at attacking from every angle being needed the most.

_And today the Hyuuga had for the most part perfected the technique but was still having issues controlling the correct output of chakra. He was panting slightly as well but still standing in he small crater like circle the Kaiten created._

"_You're getting better," Tenten said through gasp of air as she stood up on slightly wobbly legs._

_Neji like wise stood to his full height, his breath only slightly ragged. "It's not perfect yet," Neji stated while turning and taking a step towards where their water bottles were. He stopped after his first step though as something was under his foot._

_When he moved his foot aside, he saw a simple golden locket now embedded in the dirt where his foot had stepped. Stiffly he bent down and picked the piece of jewelry up. Upon closer inspection he realized it to be his teammates. Originally he had scoffed at the idea of her having a piece of jewelry on her person at all times, but after being told of why she kept it, he let it drop. After all, the only thing left to you from your parents is a special thing to anyone._

"_This must have fallen off," he stated calmly as he turned towards Tenten and held out his hand towards her._

_The bun haired girl grasped her chest where the necklace should have been, and her eyes widened slightly._

"_Thanks," she said with a soft smile after she had taken the locket back and place it back around her necklace._

_There was several moments of silence between the two then as they went over to their drinks to take a break from their training._

"_What exactly is in that locket?" Neji asked after a while, causing his teammate to look at him incredulously for a moment before collecting her self. After all, it wasn't often Hyuuga Neji talked in a non scathing, stoic, or arrogant manor._

"_I don't know exactly," Tenten said as she fumbled with the locket in her hands, "I've never been able to open it. And neither can any of the jewelers in the village."_

_Neji said nothing to her comment, understanding that there were probably something that would open it if done correctly. After all, it had passed through through his Kaiten unscathed and had not been expulsed from the force of the chakra._

_Silence lapped back over the two as they both took another sip of their water. It was several minutes before either of them spoke again._

"_We should get back to training," Neji stated as he stood and stretched slightly to get some blood flowing through his limbs._

"_Yeah…" Tenten said while fingering the locket. As she ran her finger over the edge though, something pricked her slightly that made her yelp in surprise._

_Neji, hearing her yelp, turned around to see what was wrong only to see her looking befuddled at her finer and the locket._

"_Something wrong?"_

"_No…. something ju…" she started to reply but stopped as the locket suddenly opened with a soft click. Her eyes widened greatly as she peered inside the two halves of the locket. Neji, in a rare spout of curiosity had moved over to her side to gaze inside as well._

_Both recognized on the left the distinct pattern of a seal of some sort, while on the right there was a simple of a picture of a woman holding a child. _

"_That's me…" Tenten stated looking at the picture. She knew right off that this woman had to have been her mother, though she had to wonder exactly how she was considering the woman who held her had deep auburn hair._

"_So this is your Okaa-san," Neji stated rhetorically, seeing minute similarities between Tenten and the woman. _

_After a while of starring at the picture, Tenten turned her attention towards the seal. It was an odd sort of thing to have on a locket, but, being a shinobi herself, knew that the art of seals was a useful one and that could be used for many purposes. Herself having used them extensively for her weapons for her techniques. _

_She channeled some chakra into the left side of the locket, a very common practice for seals, and was rewarded with a soft pop as a scroll popping into existence above the locket. With reactions befitting a weapons expert, she snatched it out of the air, dropping the necklace to lay back against her chest while unraveling the scroll. Inside was a technique, something she hadn't really been expecting, or hopping for…._

_After several seconds of glancing over the technique though, her brow furrowed in annoyance. The instructions for it were written by both a male and a female, and while the female's notes where neat and worded well, the males where scattered, and fragmented._

"_An odd thing to have storred in a locket…" Neji stated, his own confusion at scroll's existence setting in._

"_Yeah… But let's not worry about this now and get back to training," Tenten stated and pocketed the scroll while closing the locket, blocking them both out of her mind for the time be to help her teammate._

_Later that night Tenten was back out at that exact spot again, the scroll laid out before her so she could read it, a simple Muramasa sitting next to her. The technique was hard from what she read, but at the same time powerful. For the next week she practiced It on her own before testing in a training session with Neji._

_Thankfully it was one of the day's Gai had actually taken the time to oversee their sparring, for when she had tried the technique, something had gone wrong. She didn't remember much but apparently had nearly bisected Neji through his Kaiten but had passed out from chakra exhaustion the second she had released the attack._

_She came to later find out that Neji had still been hit by the attack, and had it not been for her inexperience with it, he had only been badly gashed along the stomach, instead of bisected._

END FLASHBACK

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Neji recognized the stance and attack the second Naruto had started it, and if he felt fearful before, he was petrified to it's greatest definition now. When Tenten had tried this technique against him, her blade had barely even showed a shimmer of chakra…

But Naruto's was burning bright with it, mixed with the raging inferno of chakra swirling around the blond as well that simply reeked bloodlust.

All thoughts stopped though as about halfway down the blade Naruto started to speak..

"Mumiyu Jinpuriyu…" he called as his fingers slid down the last half of the blade. Then suddenly he snapped his hand holding the sword above his head and brought it down quick, striking the ground hard and calling out, "Retusgen!"

The earth before him exploded as a tremendously powerful blast erupted from where his sword had hit the dirt. It rushed towards Neji and inhuman speeds, even for a ninja, and tore up the ground as it went.

Panicing, Neji did the only thing he could think of and started to spin violently while expelling chakra from his body.

"Dai Kaiten!"

Naruto smirked as he saw the Hyuuga activate his supposed perfect defense erratically, knowing full well it could not stop his own attack. But at the same time, Naruto suddenly spun on his right heel, stepping forward with his left foot as he snapped the right side of his body around bringing the sword to bear in front of him.

Chakra flared brightly around the still red blade as he moved and as he swept it horizontally in front of him with his spin, chakra surged as another blast of power erupted from the blade. This one though sounded like that of a hurricane as three distinct flares rocketed towards the spinning Hyuuga, catching up to and passing his previous attack in the blink of an eye.

In a split second the second attack connected with the spinning dome of the Kaiten and to the crowds amazement and the shinobi's horror, it merged with the defensive move, forcing the Kaiten to spin indeffinetly, while at the same time suddenly creating a literal tornado of chakra around the Hyuuga.

Neji was panicking inside the tornado though while those outside watched. He had already spent more chakra than was needed to use his technique, but he was still spinning rapidly. With his Byakkugan active he watched in horror as the initial attack slammed against the mixture of his Kaiten and what ever the second attack was that Naruto had used. Amazingly it seemed to have bounced off of the tornado, but after a brief moment, followed shortly after by sheer terror yet again, Neji saw that first attack had still passed through the vortex, but had also lifted him into the air.

His vision focused on Naruto again, his feral appearance inside the violent chakra and his now crouching position while starring at him nearly freezing his heart. The blond sprang towards him then, blazing at a speed that could easily rival his sensei's, bringing his sword to bear in front of him.

Neji wasn't sure if it was pure luck or a miscalculation that made the sword barely scrape the edge of his side, still cutting a deep wound, but nothing fatal as the blond barreled past him. He heard the distinct sound of metal against stone a second later over the howling wind of his tornado prision before starting to fall back to the earth the tornado somehow still spinning, keeping him in motion as well.

Naruto however had landed right in front of the two Kages in the Kage's box. More specifically, he was crouched on the ledge directly in front of the Kazekage, his sword buried deep within the stone he perched upon. His eyes however were locked with the Kazekages and all he could feel at that moment was a rage unlike any other.

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Being a sannin, there were very few things in life that could induce a paralyzing fear in Orochimaru. Even less than that were things that could actually come close to even reaching that point. One such thing being his old teammate Tsunade's punches.

But here… now… with the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune crouched before him, eyes locked with him, he couldn't help but feel fear.

Blood red slit eyes stared back into his amber snake like ones. Time seemed to stop for him as the pair of eyes gazed into each other. Naruto's eyes narrowed as his chakra and killing intent spiked higher and higher. The vile red chakra seeping out Naruto as if it were blood. A low guttural growl started to escape Naruto's lips as he lifted the hand that still gripped his sword.

The sword itself had pierced the stone all the way up to the hilt, and as Naruto slowly stood, the sword sliced up through the stone. The screeching sound of metal against stone filled the stadium, almost as loud as the howling winds from the tornado still active in the arena. As Naruto stood to his full height, the sword stayed perpendicular to him, his knuckles white as he gripped the hilt tightly.

Then, in a dark, raspy voice, Naruto whispered, "Can you feel it?"

His voice was quiet but echoed within the ear drums of Orochimaru, as well as Sarutobi, who was starring at Naruto in confusion, his body tense to step in incase the blond did something he shouldn't.

Orochimaru, still in his disguise, tilted his head a minuscule amount to the side to indicate his confusion at the blonds words.

This indication brought a cruel smirk to Naruto's lips. The chakra surrounding him then seemed to condense and thicken around both him and the sword in his head. Then, that same deep voice whispered out, "The breath of the Phoenix."

And in a flash, the chakra cocooned Naruto sprang into the air, his height greatly surpassing that of the stadium, and further still the Hokage Monument.

The chakra seemed to stop and swirl in the air for several seconds once it reached its apex, its form twisting into that of a bird of fire. An

unholy screech erupted from the chakra birds mouth before it started hurtling back to the earth at break neck speeds. It entered in at the top of the tornado, casting the winds into a flame spout as it went further down. Then, as it reached the bottom, the flame spout burst, the winds and heat from the flames heating the entire arena up to a blistering heat briefly. As the winds and heat vanished though the arena participants stared in shock at what they saw.

Naruto stood above Neji's body, his breath ragged, his shoulders shaking as his arms held his sword. The sword itself was embedded into the dirt, a small trickle of blood trailing down it's blade and staining the ground. That life giving fluid was flowing from a small cut along the side of Neji's neck, his body flat on the ground, paralyzed with fear.

The young Hyuuga could do nothing but stare at Naruto, his visage unlike anything he had ever seen. The whiskers on his face had darkened, as if they had cut their way deeper into his face. His golden unruly hair had turned into what could only be called a mane, but there was now tinges of red spread throughout, as if it had been dyed. The slightly elongated canines that had once been there were now razor sharp fangs, his nails now inch long claws as well.

His eyes though.... they were what was the most frightening. The blood red tint, the slanted black iris, and the three symbols spiraling around said iris.

"What are you?" Neji breathed out, his voice barely above a whisper.

It was silent for a moment as Naruto's and Neji's eyes were locked on each other. The arena was dead silent, and the only thing that could be heard was Naruto's ragged breathing.

But for Naruto, his outward ragged appearance betrayed what ravished his mind.He had nearly killed Neji in his rage. His hatred for Orochimaru had fueled his attack, and if the intense heat genereated from his own attacks hadn't burned him back to reality, Neji's head would be severed from his body.

Slowly but surely, his breathing calmed back down to reasonable level, but he never stood up straight. Eyes still locked with Neji, Naruto decided to speak to the prone Hyuuga.

"I am simply a shinobi in control of my own destiny. I am not bound by a false fate due to something out of my control. I choose my own path, and I will fight for that path's outcome with all my heart, regardless of what may stand in my way," he said, his voice not much louder than a whisper, but still a bit ragged. He stood up then slowly to his full height, "And you, Neji, have the power to be free of your cage as well."

"Winner: Uzumaki Naruto!" Genma shouted after Naruto's little speech to Neji. The stadium erupted into cheers at the announcement, and more than a few people where left in awe of the fight that had just taken place.

With the announcement made, Medic-nin came rushing out to tend to the Hyuuga. He was taken quickly away, for while his wounds were not fatal, they could become so if not treated quickly. And while they left in a rush to take Neji to the hospital, Naruto made his way back up to the stands where the rest of the contestants were.

He was greeted with applause as he entered from his fellow Konoha shinobi. Well… almost all of them. Shikamaru was still resting against the railing and just inclined his head to the side, not finding the energy to really say anything at all.

"_Typical Shika,"_ Naruto though with a grin right as he heard the call for the next match. "_ I just hope everything goes through as I hope…"_


	11. Update Notice

Hey there~

Guess this is kind of a late note but not much I can say about that. I'm going to be revamping the story a bit when I get the chance. I haven't had a chance to read over and look at what I've written in a long time and of the brief amount I have looked over, I can't even remember where I was going with the story itself. So, I'll be reworking some things and rewriting some others. Hopefully I'll be able to turn this back into something that I enjoyed doing in my spare time. Sorry again for the delayed notice, but I'll try and have something up and running again soon.


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